I've said it before and I'll say it again. How you eat is just as important as how much or what you do. You've probably "inhaled" food once in your life. You ate it so fast you didn't know what you ate. Well, don't do that. Especially if fat loss is your goal. Research consistently shows that those who eat slowly and mindfully lose more fat and maintain their weight more easily than those who eat voraciously.
Eating slowly and focusing on what you eat allows you to feel more fufilled emotionally and mentally. Here are a few tips to help you slow down:
-Use chopsticks. I remember I first started using chopsticks in the Spring of 2006. I've never stopped. It started as a habit, then it became an idosyncracy, and now it's a potent weapon to maintain a low body weight. I remember eating with one my relatives in Texas. When she saw me eating with chopsticks, she said, "you know, that's probably really healthy! I should do that too." She's right. She didn't need to lose fat, but her assessment was correct! Maybe Asians are small and skinny because they never adopted forks. I like it think it's their diet of fish and vegetables.
-Don't watch TV. Even if you're not eating, don't watch TV. But when you are eating, read something. I like to read scripture. It really forces you to slow down. You should read scripture anyway.
-Read Mindless Eatingi Brian Wosniack, a researcher on eating habits at UPenn. Some of his findings are remarkable and halarious. People will eat stale popcorn if given a larger container to eat from. Yes, stale popcorn. Colors, dish sizes, music, the environment, and the number of people around you can affect how much you eat.
-Chew slowly. If you want to take this to extremes, count to 50 before you swallow. Chewing more produces signals of satiety in your brian, especially the hormones leptin, and...
-Another way to eat like the Asians is to eat until you're 80% full. The Okinawans do this. They don't live to 100 for nothing. It takes about 15-20 minutes for signals of satiety to reach t the brain. If you have extra food, save it for tomorrow. Don't waste it. When you are comfortably full, drink something and enjoy the conversation.
If you're trying to lose weight, try to determine not only how much you eat, and what you eat, but also how you eat. Do you eat in the car? Do you eat in the office? Do you notice what you eat? Eating in a rush is an easy way to add empty and junk calories to your diet.
Research shows that when people eat slowly and mindfully, they're less likely to be overfat. Eating mindfully is more satiating and gives you a feeling of content. You'll feel more fufilled emotionally and mentally.
I recommend you eat low-density foods such as soups, salads, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. This is what I call the volumetrics diet. Eat food that takes awhile to eat. Don't eat 400-calorie cookie bars packaged as "energy" or "protein" bars. Screw those. If you feel like you've eaten like a king, you're not going to eat more later. Feel full now and you're less likely to eat a lot later.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Minefields
There a million reasons not to go to the mall. Impulsive purchasing, ridiculous prices, crowds, babies, parking lots, and noise are among them. I can't remember the last time I went to the mall to get anything. I don't care how nice it is, the advent of the internet and Amazon.com makes it a waste of time. These days they're playgrounds for teenage girls.
From a diet perspective, the mall is a nightmare. It's almost as bad as an amusement park (another place to completely avoid. At least admission to the mall is free). Most malls include a food court or a food zone. Cinnamon rolls have 800 calories. Ms. Field's cookies have 350 calories. Auntie Anne's pretzels have 500-600 calories. Don't even mention Burger King, Arby's, McDonald's or Ruby Tuesday's. Whether your sit down or you eat on the go, avoid mall food. Here's how to get in and get out in the same pant size.
-Going early. Most food vendors aren't ready to serve until the early afternoon. Get to the mall as soon as it opens. Have breakfast beforehand. Have a breakfast shake, a bowl of buckwheat or oats, or even some chicken and brown rice for breakfast. But skip breakfast and eat there. If you just have to eat there, and I don't see why you would, try to sit somewhere that serves decent food. Look for a salad. My local mall has a Cheesecake Factory, which should be called the weight gain factory. As one of the worst food offenders, it does offer good salads and appetizers. Stick with those.
Worst than restaurants are buffets such as Old Country Buffet, Chinese buffets that serve "food" drenched in "sauce", Golden Corral, and other independent restaurants. The food there is never fresh. It sits under lamps for hours upon end. It doesn't look or taste appetizing. But the appeal is that it's free and that you can eat as much as you want. The other appeal is that you don't have to order and wait for the waiter to take your order. Here are my tips for navigating the buffet table:
-Get seconds, but make sure your first plate was a modest portion. Food should not be falling off the plate. Your first plate should be a big salad to fill you up and should leave little room for those white crackers and egg rolls.
-Make most of your food fruits and vegetables, with a little meat and some sprinkled cheese on top. Good choices include all lettuce, radishes, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, and minestrone (soup). Speaking of soup, don't get cream-based soups. If you do, take a cup, not a bowl.
-Avoid the "glazed" or "marinated" vegetables that look like they are drenched in oil. Vegetables can easily become unhealthy when drenched and bathed in vegetable oils. Olive oil is healthy, but your body only needs a little. Also avoid croutons, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, or any of the heavy dressings.
Offices
After the holidays people bring in their "leftover" treats and desserts so they aren't lying around their house. The theory is, somebody else will eat them. And often, they do. But you shouldn't. Do you really want cookies that are three days old? If you're going to eat a cookie, eat one that was baked 20 minutes ago. Get one that just came out of the oven. If you're going to splurge, go all the way. Most cookies have at least 100 calories per piece. Fudge has 120 calories per ounce. If you feel like having a cookie, wait until you leave. Most of the cookies will be gone, and they won't look nearly as appetizing.
Starbucks
Liquid McDonald's is what I like to call it. Of course, it doesn't have the same reputation as an unhealthy restaurant because the same elitists who want to ban transfat and tax cheeseburgers frequent coffee shops to read their political books and discuss how they can control other people's lives. If you're going to tax junk food, then tax the banana nut bread at 500 calories, or the mochas and eggnogs that have between 500-700 calories. Stick with black coffee, and tell yourself you won't order a pastry or cookie until after you've ordered, sat down, and read the paper. By the time you're ready to leave, you won't have time or the inclination to stand in line again. Better yet, make your own coffee at work. Skip the sugar and replace it with Stevia. Not only is brewing your own coffee cheaper, but it'll save you time.
Use these tips to navigate your minefields.
Kevin
From a diet perspective, the mall is a nightmare. It's almost as bad as an amusement park (another place to completely avoid. At least admission to the mall is free). Most malls include a food court or a food zone. Cinnamon rolls have 800 calories. Ms. Field's cookies have 350 calories. Auntie Anne's pretzels have 500-600 calories. Don't even mention Burger King, Arby's, McDonald's or Ruby Tuesday's. Whether your sit down or you eat on the go, avoid mall food. Here's how to get in and get out in the same pant size.
-Going early. Most food vendors aren't ready to serve until the early afternoon. Get to the mall as soon as it opens. Have breakfast beforehand. Have a breakfast shake, a bowl of buckwheat or oats, or even some chicken and brown rice for breakfast. But skip breakfast and eat there. If you just have to eat there, and I don't see why you would, try to sit somewhere that serves decent food. Look for a salad. My local mall has a Cheesecake Factory, which should be called the weight gain factory. As one of the worst food offenders, it does offer good salads and appetizers. Stick with those.
Worst than restaurants are buffets such as Old Country Buffet, Chinese buffets that serve "food" drenched in "sauce", Golden Corral, and other independent restaurants. The food there is never fresh. It sits under lamps for hours upon end. It doesn't look or taste appetizing. But the appeal is that it's free and that you can eat as much as you want. The other appeal is that you don't have to order and wait for the waiter to take your order. Here are my tips for navigating the buffet table:
-Get seconds, but make sure your first plate was a modest portion. Food should not be falling off the plate. Your first plate should be a big salad to fill you up and should leave little room for those white crackers and egg rolls.
-Make most of your food fruits and vegetables, with a little meat and some sprinkled cheese on top. Good choices include all lettuce, radishes, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes, sprouts, avocado, and minestrone (soup). Speaking of soup, don't get cream-based soups. If you do, take a cup, not a bowl.
-Avoid the "glazed" or "marinated" vegetables that look like they are drenched in oil. Vegetables can easily become unhealthy when drenched and bathed in vegetable oils. Olive oil is healthy, but your body only needs a little. Also avoid croutons, ranch dressing, mayonnaise, or any of the heavy dressings.
Offices
After the holidays people bring in their "leftover" treats and desserts so they aren't lying around their house. The theory is, somebody else will eat them. And often, they do. But you shouldn't. Do you really want cookies that are three days old? If you're going to eat a cookie, eat one that was baked 20 minutes ago. Get one that just came out of the oven. If you're going to splurge, go all the way. Most cookies have at least 100 calories per piece. Fudge has 120 calories per ounce. If you feel like having a cookie, wait until you leave. Most of the cookies will be gone, and they won't look nearly as appetizing.
Starbucks
Liquid McDonald's is what I like to call it. Of course, it doesn't have the same reputation as an unhealthy restaurant because the same elitists who want to ban transfat and tax cheeseburgers frequent coffee shops to read their political books and discuss how they can control other people's lives. If you're going to tax junk food, then tax the banana nut bread at 500 calories, or the mochas and eggnogs that have between 500-700 calories. Stick with black coffee, and tell yourself you won't order a pastry or cookie until after you've ordered, sat down, and read the paper. By the time you're ready to leave, you won't have time or the inclination to stand in line again. Better yet, make your own coffee at work. Skip the sugar and replace it with Stevia. Not only is brewing your own coffee cheaper, but it'll save you time.
Use these tips to navigate your minefields.
Kevin
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Spicy
I'm not a food adventurer but I do think we can incorporate other traditions and spices from ethnic cuisine. In other words, I'd like to keep the baby but throw out the bath water: that means keeping spices such cayenne but throwing out the cheese and fattening tortillas. I want to keep the cinnamon but not the cereal. I want to keep turmeric but not the curry sauce. Spices can replace excess salt and fat, and can add pizazz and flavor to your favorite dishes. Here are four spices you ought to include in your Lazy Susan:
Turmeric- here's a reason to like mustard. It contains a compound called curcumin which acts as an antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory. Benefits include: protection against dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. Turmeric works best in soups, sauces and marinades.
Cinnamon- my personal favorite. This works best with smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, or even fruit. I like to dash it on diced apples. Just don't eat Frosted Flakes with cinnamon! There are actually two types of cinnamon. Ceylon is preferred by naturalists and herbalists. Cassia is usually what you find in the grocery stores. It can reduce inflammation and lower blood glucose levels. Whichever your choose, just use it.
Ginger- Used in China, India, Japan, and the Middle East, this is actually made from an underground stem called rhizome. It relieves nausea, inflammation, and can aids digestion. It's kind of a hassle to use. You have to buy the root and then use a cheese grater. Ginger can also treat colds and coughs. Add it to stews, soups, or even smoothies.
Cayenne- This contains the compound caspsaicin, which makes chili peppers hot. Capsaicin can kill and retard cancel cells in the brain, liver, prostate, and the skin. The best way to use cayenne is in chili and stews. You can even add it to sauces when you cook meat, the subject of my next post.
Kevin
Turmeric- here's a reason to like mustard. It contains a compound called curcumin which acts as an antioxidant and is anti-inflammatory. Benefits include: protection against dementia, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer. Turmeric works best in soups, sauces and marinades.
Cinnamon- my personal favorite. This works best with smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, or even fruit. I like to dash it on diced apples. Just don't eat Frosted Flakes with cinnamon! There are actually two types of cinnamon. Ceylon is preferred by naturalists and herbalists. Cassia is usually what you find in the grocery stores. It can reduce inflammation and lower blood glucose levels. Whichever your choose, just use it.
Ginger- Used in China, India, Japan, and the Middle East, this is actually made from an underground stem called rhizome. It relieves nausea, inflammation, and can aids digestion. It's kind of a hassle to use. You have to buy the root and then use a cheese grater. Ginger can also treat colds and coughs. Add it to stews, soups, or even smoothies.
Cayenne- This contains the compound caspsaicin, which makes chili peppers hot. Capsaicin can kill and retard cancel cells in the brain, liver, prostate, and the skin. The best way to use cayenne is in chili and stews. You can even add it to sauces when you cook meat, the subject of my next post.
Kevin
Raw Food Myth
One trend we've seen in the last ten years is the rise of the raw food movement. The theory, in short, is that cooking food destroys enzymes. This theory is often based more on emotion and ideology than fact or science. In fact, cooking often liberates nutrients from food and makes them more bioavailable. The difference between raw and cooked can be significant.
Tomatoes- I eat stewed tomatoes straight from the can. But now I cook them. Here's why. Cooking provides more lycopene than raw tomatoes. Lycopene helps your heart. Here's the difference in lycopene levels:
One medium tomato: 3.7 mg
Can of sauce: 19.4 mg
Take that, raw tomatoes! Look for tomatoes that include the peel.
Carrots
Boil or steam your carrots. Carrots have carotenoids, which are converted to vitamin A. Boil for about 3-4 minutes to break down the tough fibres. You can tell when your fork easily penetrates the carrots. You can also crush them when juicing them. Carrots also work best with a fat, as vitamin A is fat-soluble. Eat them in a salad with eggs, flaxseed oil, and avocados.
Bell Peppers
Stir fry them with your fajitas. Since you'll be using oil in frying pan, the fat will help absorb vitamin B6 and A. Steaming and roasting them are also good options.
Green Vegetables
These taste nasty when eaten raw, so steaming them or cooking them is mandatory. This separates the calcium from the oxalates. Eat with protein as this will increase the bioavailability of the iron.
Broccoli
Boiling and steaming preserves the antioxidants and glucosinolates, which counteract carcinogens in your body. Steam for three minutes or until the broccoli slightly wilts and turns bright green.
Onions/Garlic
Yes, onions improve heart health. But onions on a Philly cheese steak won't help your heart. The secret to onions is allicin, an enzyme. Add garlic at the very end of the cooking process so you don't destroy allicin. Add onions and garlic to your fajitas, along with bell peppers, some kind of meat, and a source of fat and you have one antioxidative meal.
Kevin
Tomatoes- I eat stewed tomatoes straight from the can. But now I cook them. Here's why. Cooking provides more lycopene than raw tomatoes. Lycopene helps your heart. Here's the difference in lycopene levels:
One medium tomato: 3.7 mg
Can of sauce: 19.4 mg
Take that, raw tomatoes! Look for tomatoes that include the peel.
Carrots
Boil or steam your carrots. Carrots have carotenoids, which are converted to vitamin A. Boil for about 3-4 minutes to break down the tough fibres. You can tell when your fork easily penetrates the carrots. You can also crush them when juicing them. Carrots also work best with a fat, as vitamin A is fat-soluble. Eat them in a salad with eggs, flaxseed oil, and avocados.
Bell Peppers
Stir fry them with your fajitas. Since you'll be using oil in frying pan, the fat will help absorb vitamin B6 and A. Steaming and roasting them are also good options.
Green Vegetables
These taste nasty when eaten raw, so steaming them or cooking them is mandatory. This separates the calcium from the oxalates. Eat with protein as this will increase the bioavailability of the iron.
Broccoli
Boiling and steaming preserves the antioxidants and glucosinolates, which counteract carcinogens in your body. Steam for three minutes or until the broccoli slightly wilts and turns bright green.
Onions/Garlic
Yes, onions improve heart health. But onions on a Philly cheese steak won't help your heart. The secret to onions is allicin, an enzyme. Add garlic at the very end of the cooking process so you don't destroy allicin. Add onions and garlic to your fajitas, along with bell peppers, some kind of meat, and a source of fat and you have one antioxidative meal.
Kevin
Supplement Review: A, C, E
There are myths and facts about these vitamins regarding their health effects. Vitamin A and E are fat soluble while VC is water soluble.
Vitamin A can be found in almost all fruits and vegetables, especially carrots, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables, mangos, melons, sweet potatoes, and peppers. Vitamin A is actually a collection of vitamins. Retinol is the most usable form. Cartenoids found in carrots and pumpkin are only converted when the body needs it. Vitamin A is important for immune function, wound healing, and red blood cell development. A deficiency in vitamin A can exacerbate iron deficiency anemia. Too much retinyl palmitate, a preformed vitamin A, can lead to toxicity. That's why the best sources include carrots and colored fruits.
Vitamin E can be found in almonds, avocados, seeds, apples, vegetable oils, and tomatoes. There's no evidence that it lowers prostate cancer risk or cardiovascular risk. Vitamin E scavenges free radicals and acts as an antioxidant. If you're on a low fat diet, aim for 400 IU of tocopherols, fat-soluble alchohols that have vitamin E, and tocotrienols, vitamin E compounds.
Vitamin C is found in most vegetables, peas, citrus fruits, asparagus, cauliflower, lemons, and tropical fruits. It protects cells from free radicals and improves iron absorption. It develop collagen and synthesizes carnitine, an amino acid. Vitamin C boost immunity, and new research shows that a 500 mg supplement could lower your LDL cholesterol by acting as anti-inflammatory.
Take home message: track these vitamins in your diet. Use an online tool such as fitday to track your vitamin intake. I suspect that if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, you're probably not deficient in A or C, but you probably don't get enough E.
Kevin
Injured athletes take supplements of these vitamin to facilitate the healing process.
Vitamin A can be found in almost all fruits and vegetables, especially carrots, pumpkin, green leafy vegetables, mangos, melons, sweet potatoes, and peppers. Vitamin A is actually a collection of vitamins. Retinol is the most usable form. Cartenoids found in carrots and pumpkin are only converted when the body needs it. Vitamin A is important for immune function, wound healing, and red blood cell development. A deficiency in vitamin A can exacerbate iron deficiency anemia. Too much retinyl palmitate, a preformed vitamin A, can lead to toxicity. That's why the best sources include carrots and colored fruits.
Vitamin E can be found in almonds, avocados, seeds, apples, vegetable oils, and tomatoes. There's no evidence that it lowers prostate cancer risk or cardiovascular risk. Vitamin E scavenges free radicals and acts as an antioxidant. If you're on a low fat diet, aim for 400 IU of tocopherols, fat-soluble alchohols that have vitamin E, and tocotrienols, vitamin E compounds.
Vitamin C is found in most vegetables, peas, citrus fruits, asparagus, cauliflower, lemons, and tropical fruits. It protects cells from free radicals and improves iron absorption. It develop collagen and synthesizes carnitine, an amino acid. Vitamin C boost immunity, and new research shows that a 500 mg supplement could lower your LDL cholesterol by acting as anti-inflammatory.
Take home message: track these vitamins in your diet. Use an online tool such as fitday to track your vitamin intake. I suspect that if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, you're probably not deficient in A or C, but you probably don't get enough E.
Kevin
Injured athletes take supplements of these vitamin to facilitate the healing process.
What is Red 40?
Remember when you were kids and you used to tell your friends that the yellow 5 in your Mountain Dew caused your balls to shrink? I don't mean to be gross, but that's what we used to say. It turns out those color additives aren't so good after all!
Since the 1970s, food additives have been linked with psychological and behavioral disorders. Studies have also linked them to asthma, hives, eczema, and sleep distrubances. They're so bad that even Kraft, Mars, and even McDonald's, not exactly providers of wholesome, unadultured food, don't use them in thier products. Food manufacturers only use them color colorless foods such as soda, sprinkles, ice cream, ice cream and a ton of other processed foods. They don't affect taste, but just makes products look more attractive.
Let's take a look at our roster of offenders:
-Yellow 5 and 6 (no evidence that they shrink gonads but I wouldn't be surprised)
-Red 3 and 40
-Blue 1 and 2
-Green 3
-Orange B
Look for them at the end of a label. If your product has it, reconsider drinking or eating it. This stuff looks like crap to me.
Kevin
Since the 1970s, food additives have been linked with psychological and behavioral disorders. Studies have also linked them to asthma, hives, eczema, and sleep distrubances. They're so bad that even Kraft, Mars, and even McDonald's, not exactly providers of wholesome, unadultured food, don't use them in thier products. Food manufacturers only use them color colorless foods such as soda, sprinkles, ice cream, ice cream and a ton of other processed foods. They don't affect taste, but just makes products look more attractive.
Let's take a look at our roster of offenders:
-Yellow 5 and 6 (no evidence that they shrink gonads but I wouldn't be surprised)
-Red 3 and 40
-Blue 1 and 2
-Green 3
-Orange B
Look for them at the end of a label. If your product has it, reconsider drinking or eating it. This stuff looks like crap to me.
Kevin
Trends of 2009
I know the new year is six weeks old and most people have forgotten their new year's resolutions to get into shape, but I do want to recap some emerging trends in the fitness industry. Like I've said before, the industry is plagued by fitness incest.
Flexitarianism- a hybrid word from flexible and vegetarian, this refers to a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and legumes, but also allows a small amount of meat. I think this is where I fall. I eat seafood and eggs, which means I'm not really a "pescatarian," or a seafood vegetarian. Eggs aren't really dairy but they are an animal source. I think flexitarian is much better than say, semi-vegetarian, or plant-based. I hope more people adopt this diet, as it is much better for the environment. Cattle are raised with corn, they shit everywhere, and then they're transported to slaughtering houses and then finally to the supermarket. Richard Manning referred to this as "the oil we eat," in Harper's a few years ago. Refer to Mark Bittman's Food Matters for more details.
Flexitarianism- a hybrid word from flexible and vegetarian, this refers to a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and legumes, but also allows a small amount of meat. I think this is where I fall. I eat seafood and eggs, which means I'm not really a "pescatarian," or a seafood vegetarian. Eggs aren't really dairy but they are an animal source. I think flexitarian is much better than say, semi-vegetarian, or plant-based. I hope more people adopt this diet, as it is much better for the environment. Cattle are raised with corn, they shit everywhere, and then they're transported to slaughtering houses and then finally to the supermarket. Richard Manning referred to this as "the oil we eat," in Harper's a few years ago. Refer to Mark Bittman's Food Matters for more details.
Kettlebells- These pieces of metal with a handle attached to them have become very popular in America in the last two years. The Russians have used them for years but the "secret" has only recently come here. I could go on and on about kettlebells, but here's what I think: they're very effective, but they're not absolutely necessary to get into shape or to train for sports. They're just tools. Great tools, but they can be dangerous if you use them incorrectly. And from what I see in most gyms, most people have no idea how to use them. I see rounded backs during swings, and simply atrocious Turkish get-ups. If you want to use them, start light, and at least watch a DVD on how to use them correctly. Focus on proper movement and mechanics before lifting heavier kettlebells.
Kevin
How You Can be the Biggest Loser
I've never watched The Biggest Loser but I know what the concept is, I know who Jillian Michaels is, and I know what the contestants did to lose massive amounts of weight in a short amount of time.
The show wasn't realistic for a couple reasons. Their diet was strictly controlled. They had someone watching them every day, every hour. They lived in a controlled environment. But there were some lessons you should learn from the show.
First is the power of accountability. The contestants had to eat what the trainers told them. They had to do exactly what they told them. There was not quitting. There was no choice. Social support is very important in achieving any goal, whether it be athletics, weight loss, or establishing a business. Having workout partners makes achieving a goal easier. It shifts attention away from the pain, and it forces you to keep going. Just as overweight friends and family members can predispose your to obesity, friends who share the same goals and aspirations can help you achieve your goal.
Contestants ate very well. They learned how to eat vegetables at every meal, how to eat several meals per day, how to eat a balanced diet, how to eat protein, how to cut out junk food, how to cut out liquid calories, and how to prepare healthy food in a minimal amount of time. Exercise cannot overcome a bad diet, folks. You have to have both. The contestants weren't making gourmet meals, but they were making healthy, simple meals that they could enjoy.
Here's the dark side to the show. The fixed environment was completely unrealistic. Nobody lives in that environment. In the real world we have a million choices to make. Those choices determine our results. The show took out all the thinking and all the temptation.
The contestants also lost extreme amounts of weight. And I thought the claims on magazines that promised four pounds in four days were unrealistic! These people lost 100 pounds in 12 weeks. However, it's important to remember that really fat people have an easier time losing massive amounts of weight. Two pounds per week is not uncommon. Their maintenance diet is so large, usually 3000-4000 calories, that cutting 2000 calories isn't hard. Still, eight pounds per week can only happen in a controlled environment, with massive reduction in calories, and extreme increases in exercise.
Unrealistic exercise. These were completely unconditioned people. They hadn't done any structured exercise in a long time, if ever. Then they started running miles and miles in the sand. These are workouts that Navy SEALS do. Most people have no time or inclination to work out more than an hour per day.
Demonizing food. You should enjoy what you eat. While this show made the contestants eat healthy fare, food became the enemy. It's not the enemy. What you eat and how much can limit your progress, but food per se is not the problem. I think this show taught a bad relationship with food that's hard to reverse.
No emphasis on behavior modification. These contestants weren't taught how to intuitively eat, and how to listen to their bodies. They didn't learn the emotional issues behind their weight gain. These people gained a lot of weight because they had underlying psychological issues, and deeply ingrained bad habits. It's no wonder that when these contestants left the show, they quickly regained the weight. They lost the weight, but not the reason for the initial weight gain. As soon as they returned to the real world, they regained it.
Kevin
The show wasn't realistic for a couple reasons. Their diet was strictly controlled. They had someone watching them every day, every hour. They lived in a controlled environment. But there were some lessons you should learn from the show.
First is the power of accountability. The contestants had to eat what the trainers told them. They had to do exactly what they told them. There was not quitting. There was no choice. Social support is very important in achieving any goal, whether it be athletics, weight loss, or establishing a business. Having workout partners makes achieving a goal easier. It shifts attention away from the pain, and it forces you to keep going. Just as overweight friends and family members can predispose your to obesity, friends who share the same goals and aspirations can help you achieve your goal.
Contestants ate very well. They learned how to eat vegetables at every meal, how to eat several meals per day, how to eat a balanced diet, how to eat protein, how to cut out junk food, how to cut out liquid calories, and how to prepare healthy food in a minimal amount of time. Exercise cannot overcome a bad diet, folks. You have to have both. The contestants weren't making gourmet meals, but they were making healthy, simple meals that they could enjoy.
Here's the dark side to the show. The fixed environment was completely unrealistic. Nobody lives in that environment. In the real world we have a million choices to make. Those choices determine our results. The show took out all the thinking and all the temptation.
The contestants also lost extreme amounts of weight. And I thought the claims on magazines that promised four pounds in four days were unrealistic! These people lost 100 pounds in 12 weeks. However, it's important to remember that really fat people have an easier time losing massive amounts of weight. Two pounds per week is not uncommon. Their maintenance diet is so large, usually 3000-4000 calories, that cutting 2000 calories isn't hard. Still, eight pounds per week can only happen in a controlled environment, with massive reduction in calories, and extreme increases in exercise.
Unrealistic exercise. These were completely unconditioned people. They hadn't done any structured exercise in a long time, if ever. Then they started running miles and miles in the sand. These are workouts that Navy SEALS do. Most people have no time or inclination to work out more than an hour per day.
Demonizing food. You should enjoy what you eat. While this show made the contestants eat healthy fare, food became the enemy. It's not the enemy. What you eat and how much can limit your progress, but food per se is not the problem. I think this show taught a bad relationship with food that's hard to reverse.
No emphasis on behavior modification. These contestants weren't taught how to intuitively eat, and how to listen to their bodies. They didn't learn the emotional issues behind their weight gain. These people gained a lot of weight because they had underlying psychological issues, and deeply ingrained bad habits. It's no wonder that when these contestants left the show, they quickly regained the weight. They lost the weight, but not the reason for the initial weight gain. As soon as they returned to the real world, they regained it.
Kevin
Testosterone Lab
I like talking about testosterone. It's in the name of my business. It's what makes me a man. It's what gives me libido. It's what gives me my voice. So I'm always interested in ways to increase it without drugs. Although I'm still taking a prescribed supplement, I do like to boost it naturally.
Every year men get older and their testosterone levels drop. This explains why their libido starts to lag, their muscles mass deteriorates. This is why learning how it works and how it affects your body is very important. You should also understand remedies and possible treatments.
The hypothalmus is a part of the brain that controls the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces luteninizing hormone, a precursor to testosterone. If LH is low, so is testosterone. Testosterone is created in the testes, but low testosterone levels are often not because of a problem in the testes. I can attest to that. A freak lesion on my pituitary gland was the reason that my body stopped producing the hormone at sufficient levels.
Symptoms of low testosterone include low iron levels (anemia), increased body fat, low libido, erectile dysfunction, and depression. If you like lifting weights, you're not going to see impressive gains.
Low testosterone is now called "andropause," similar to "menopause" in women. The effects of andropause are just as important.
To measure your testosterone, go to a lab and have "free testosterone" measured. This type is not bound by transport molecules. Also measure total testosterone. Total testosterone should be between 300-800 nanograms per deciliter and free T should be at least 15 pg/ml. Also measure your LH, prolactin, hematocrit, hemoglobin, bone density, and prostate-specific antigen.
Supplementing is worth considering but there are risks. Too much testosterone is almost like a steroid. It could lead to aggression, and could raise you risk of heart disease. high levels of T could promote hormone-dependent cancers. Get Testim. You don't have to wear a patch all day and absorption is better. You just have to remember to apply one packet per day (bring scissors or a pen to poke a hole in the tube).
I've had mixed success. One month my levels will be above normal, the next month it could be much lower. I can't explain the results. I hardly ever notice the affects of the medicine. I can't tell when I'm taking medication and when I'm not.
Kevin
Every year men get older and their testosterone levels drop. This explains why their libido starts to lag, their muscles mass deteriorates. This is why learning how it works and how it affects your body is very important. You should also understand remedies and possible treatments.
The hypothalmus is a part of the brain that controls the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces luteninizing hormone, a precursor to testosterone. If LH is low, so is testosterone. Testosterone is created in the testes, but low testosterone levels are often not because of a problem in the testes. I can attest to that. A freak lesion on my pituitary gland was the reason that my body stopped producing the hormone at sufficient levels.
Symptoms of low testosterone include low iron levels (anemia), increased body fat, low libido, erectile dysfunction, and depression. If you like lifting weights, you're not going to see impressive gains.
Low testosterone is now called "andropause," similar to "menopause" in women. The effects of andropause are just as important.
To measure your testosterone, go to a lab and have "free testosterone" measured. This type is not bound by transport molecules. Also measure total testosterone. Total testosterone should be between 300-800 nanograms per deciliter and free T should be at least 15 pg/ml. Also measure your LH, prolactin, hematocrit, hemoglobin, bone density, and prostate-specific antigen.
Supplementing is worth considering but there are risks. Too much testosterone is almost like a steroid. It could lead to aggression, and could raise you risk of heart disease. high levels of T could promote hormone-dependent cancers. Get Testim. You don't have to wear a patch all day and absorption is better. You just have to remember to apply one packet per day (bring scissors or a pen to poke a hole in the tube).
I've had mixed success. One month my levels will be above normal, the next month it could be much lower. I can't explain the results. I hardly ever notice the affects of the medicine. I can't tell when I'm taking medication and when I'm not.
Kevin
Statins
Statins are being prescribed more and more by doctors who consider it a miracle drug for lowering cholesterol. I always recommend you find easier and more simple ways to lower cholesterol and improve your health. I'm not going to write about the myth of cholesterol, but I do want to update you about how diet affects cholesterol and why statins probably aren't your best solution.
The latest JUPTER study that included thousands of patients from across the world showed that statins lowered heart problems by 44% and mortality by 21%. All these people had normal LDL levels but high levels of c-reactive protein. So what was more important here? The cholesterol or the high levels of inflammation? Inflammation is the root of chronic disease, not cholesterol. High cholesterol is a signal or sign that inflammation if high. Cholesterol is just a signal. In the JUPITER study, Crestor, a statin, lowered cardiac events by 50%, from 1.8% to 0.9%! What a difference!
Statins can cause muscle pain, nausea, and liver complications. I'd rather you adopt a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Get plenty of vitamin C, as it can reduce CRP, even in people with high levels. Get at least 1000 mg. Avoid alcohol. Too much alcohol and leave fatty deposits on your arteries, which triggers monocytes to come fight off the deposits. Instead, they stick to the fat deposits and cause blockages.
Kevin
The latest JUPTER study that included thousands of patients from across the world showed that statins lowered heart problems by 44% and mortality by 21%. All these people had normal LDL levels but high levels of c-reactive protein. So what was more important here? The cholesterol or the high levels of inflammation? Inflammation is the root of chronic disease, not cholesterol. High cholesterol is a signal or sign that inflammation if high. Cholesterol is just a signal. In the JUPITER study, Crestor, a statin, lowered cardiac events by 50%, from 1.8% to 0.9%! What a difference!
Statins can cause muscle pain, nausea, and liver complications. I'd rather you adopt a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Get plenty of vitamin C, as it can reduce CRP, even in people with high levels. Get at least 1000 mg. Avoid alcohol. Too much alcohol and leave fatty deposits on your arteries, which triggers monocytes to come fight off the deposits. Instead, they stick to the fat deposits and cause blockages.
Kevin
Pressure Cooker
High blood pressure is associated with heart disease, poor diet, lack of exercise, and type-II diabetes. One third of all adults have high blood pressure, or hypertension. Hypertension is also associated with rising rates of obesity. In other words, it's not good, and you need to lower it. Common remedies include exercise, limiting alcohol, eliminating smoking, and reducing salt intake. I want to share some recent findings that show how other dietary changes can lower blood pressure.
Increase your potassium. To do this, you need more avocados, bananas, chard, lima benas, and sweet potatoes. However, it's hard to reach the recommended 4700 mg per day. I'd definitely supplement with potassium, as most MVs don't even come close to giving you what you need, even if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
If you like chocolate, then here's good news for you. Danish researchers found that Dutch men with the highest consumption of cocoa from food and beverages had the lowest blood pressure and the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease. Flavonoids in chocolate relax arteries. Don't worry about studies that show that chocolate lowers body density. These studies didn't control for crappy diet and milk chocolate. Get Endangered Species chocolate.
Olive leaf extract. I mentioned this in my post about the immunity diet. This has been found to lower blood pressure with suppplementation of 250-500 mg.
Garlic- supplementation of 600-900 mg can reduce blood pressure as much as prescribed beta-blockers
Relax- Good times, music, scripture, comedy, and quiet time can relax your mind and arteries. A recent American Heart Association Study showed that old people with high blood pressure lowered their systolic blood pressure (the top number, by the way), by 6.4% by listening to music.
I haven't tried consuming olive leaf extract with garlic while I work out. It coudn't hurt, but it wouldn't be too palatable!
Kevin
Increase your potassium. To do this, you need more avocados, bananas, chard, lima benas, and sweet potatoes. However, it's hard to reach the recommended 4700 mg per day. I'd definitely supplement with potassium, as most MVs don't even come close to giving you what you need, even if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
If you like chocolate, then here's good news for you. Danish researchers found that Dutch men with the highest consumption of cocoa from food and beverages had the lowest blood pressure and the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease. Flavonoids in chocolate relax arteries. Don't worry about studies that show that chocolate lowers body density. These studies didn't control for crappy diet and milk chocolate. Get Endangered Species chocolate.
Olive leaf extract. I mentioned this in my post about the immunity diet. This has been found to lower blood pressure with suppplementation of 250-500 mg.
Garlic- supplementation of 600-900 mg can reduce blood pressure as much as prescribed beta-blockers
Relax- Good times, music, scripture, comedy, and quiet time can relax your mind and arteries. A recent American Heart Association Study showed that old people with high blood pressure lowered their systolic blood pressure (the top number, by the way), by 6.4% by listening to music.
I haven't tried consuming olive leaf extract with garlic while I work out. It coudn't hurt, but it wouldn't be too palatable!
Kevin
Heat
As I write this, there are 26 inches of snow on the ground outside. Perhaps that's the inspiration for an article about heat.
There was a great article about surviving brutal heat in the latest issue of Inside Triathlon. It was written by Torbjorn Sindballe, a fantastic cyclist who unfortunately had to retire early due to a congenital heart defect. He was one of the best cyclists in all triathlon. He won the Ironman-distance numerous times, but never captured a championship in Kona. The heat and humidity are what make Kona famous, along with the atmosphere, the Energy Lab, the geography, and the winds. But the heat is what makes and break champions and potential champions. Sindballe described the risk factors of training in the heat, and how to manage them.
Dehydration. When we sweat, we lose fluid. Dehydration can increase core temperature, make us feel lethargic, and increases use of muscle glycogen. Since we can only store several hundred grams of carbohydrates in our body, this isn't good. Glycogen stores some amount of water, but not a lot. Sweat rates range from .5- 2 liters per hour, but absorption rates range from 1.3-1.4 liters per hour. If you sweat more than 1.4 liters per hour, you're in trouble.
Hyponatremia- the opposite of dehydration. Contrary to popular belief, this does not occur due too much water, but the concentration of sodium in the body. Too much water can dilute sodium levels, which can degrade performance, or, worse, even kill you.
Overheating. Interestingly, the latest research on exercise performance shows that in extreme conditions such as Hawaii it is not muscle fatigue or glycogen depletion that causes deactivation of muscle fibers, but core temperature. If the core temperature rises to a certain point, the brain will save the body by deactivating muscle fibers. Heat balance is critical, and it's a huge disadvantage to larger people. Heat can literally be an insurmountable barrier to a personal record in any given event. It's no wonder that running records are set in mild conditions between 5-15 C or 40-60 F. The more extreme the conditions, the less weight you must have to perform at a particular pace. In other words, at any given temperature, a smaller athlete is going to be less affected by heat and humidity. That's great news for me!
Economy- This refers to the distance you cover with a certain amount of energy. This is why technique is so crucial in endurance events. Bad technique means you have to use more energy to cover a certain distance. Optimizing biomechanics and technique will help you manage extreme conditions. You must also do a lot of goal-pace work. Don't try to go faster on race day. By the way, cramps are not the result of electrolyte imbalances. They're the result of poor training, and not training for race-day conditions.
Lipolysis- A fancy word for fat burning. If you can utilize fat more than carbs, and perform for long periods of time with no carbs, then you teach your body to use fat, not carbs. There's little evidence that a high-fat diet can make you burn more fat. Training your body to use fat is what's more important, not the percentage of fat in your diet.
Acclimatization- One of the most interesting points in the article was how important it is to acclimatize. It's like acclimatizing to altitude. At first, your performance suffers. After a week, you feel fine. Heat is the same way. After just one week, time to exhaustion doubles! If you're going to run in a hot climate, then train in a hot climate. Doing some training in the late afternoon. Don't forget the sunscreen. When you acclimatize, you work at a lower heart rate, your metabolic rate decreases and you use more fat, not carbs. Your body releases less sodium in sweat. This is when a heart rate monitor can actually help you. You can monitor your adaptation to extreme environments, and you can make sure you don't cross a critical threshold. Heart rate monitors are a topic for a different post.
Nutrition- Drink water, but also consume some electrolytes, especially sodium. Do not drink Gatorade. Gatorade has a lot more water than sodium, so drinking Gatorade will actually dilute your sodium concentration even more. But you must eat/drink on race day what your ate/drank during your training
Clothing- Wear a sun visor with no protection on the top of the head. You want to protect your eyes and avoid sunburn, but you need to release the heat from your head. While the majority of your heat does not leave from your head (another exercise myth), a good portion of it does. Also consider wearing white clothes, or a wet long-sleeved t-shirt.
That's heat management 101. I also recommend that you not train between 10-2, as this is when UVA rays are most prevalent. Refer to my post on vitamin D for more information about that. But if you do plan to race in a hot environment, then you need to plan some of your workouts for the late afternoon. Heat does not kill. Poor management of heat, improper training, and lack of preparation do.
Kevin
There was a great article about surviving brutal heat in the latest issue of Inside Triathlon. It was written by Torbjorn Sindballe, a fantastic cyclist who unfortunately had to retire early due to a congenital heart defect. He was one of the best cyclists in all triathlon. He won the Ironman-distance numerous times, but never captured a championship in Kona. The heat and humidity are what make Kona famous, along with the atmosphere, the Energy Lab, the geography, and the winds. But the heat is what makes and break champions and potential champions. Sindballe described the risk factors of training in the heat, and how to manage them.
Dehydration. When we sweat, we lose fluid. Dehydration can increase core temperature, make us feel lethargic, and increases use of muscle glycogen. Since we can only store several hundred grams of carbohydrates in our body, this isn't good. Glycogen stores some amount of water, but not a lot. Sweat rates range from .5- 2 liters per hour, but absorption rates range from 1.3-1.4 liters per hour. If you sweat more than 1.4 liters per hour, you're in trouble.
Hyponatremia- the opposite of dehydration. Contrary to popular belief, this does not occur due too much water, but the concentration of sodium in the body. Too much water can dilute sodium levels, which can degrade performance, or, worse, even kill you.
Overheating. Interestingly, the latest research on exercise performance shows that in extreme conditions such as Hawaii it is not muscle fatigue or glycogen depletion that causes deactivation of muscle fibers, but core temperature. If the core temperature rises to a certain point, the brain will save the body by deactivating muscle fibers. Heat balance is critical, and it's a huge disadvantage to larger people. Heat can literally be an insurmountable barrier to a personal record in any given event. It's no wonder that running records are set in mild conditions between 5-15 C or 40-60 F. The more extreme the conditions, the less weight you must have to perform at a particular pace. In other words, at any given temperature, a smaller athlete is going to be less affected by heat and humidity. That's great news for me!
Economy- This refers to the distance you cover with a certain amount of energy. This is why technique is so crucial in endurance events. Bad technique means you have to use more energy to cover a certain distance. Optimizing biomechanics and technique will help you manage extreme conditions. You must also do a lot of goal-pace work. Don't try to go faster on race day. By the way, cramps are not the result of electrolyte imbalances. They're the result of poor training, and not training for race-day conditions.
Lipolysis- A fancy word for fat burning. If you can utilize fat more than carbs, and perform for long periods of time with no carbs, then you teach your body to use fat, not carbs. There's little evidence that a high-fat diet can make you burn more fat. Training your body to use fat is what's more important, not the percentage of fat in your diet.
Acclimatization- One of the most interesting points in the article was how important it is to acclimatize. It's like acclimatizing to altitude. At first, your performance suffers. After a week, you feel fine. Heat is the same way. After just one week, time to exhaustion doubles! If you're going to run in a hot climate, then train in a hot climate. Doing some training in the late afternoon. Don't forget the sunscreen. When you acclimatize, you work at a lower heart rate, your metabolic rate decreases and you use more fat, not carbs. Your body releases less sodium in sweat. This is when a heart rate monitor can actually help you. You can monitor your adaptation to extreme environments, and you can make sure you don't cross a critical threshold. Heart rate monitors are a topic for a different post.
Nutrition- Drink water, but also consume some electrolytes, especially sodium. Do not drink Gatorade. Gatorade has a lot more water than sodium, so drinking Gatorade will actually dilute your sodium concentration even more. But you must eat/drink on race day what your ate/drank during your training
Clothing- Wear a sun visor with no protection on the top of the head. You want to protect your eyes and avoid sunburn, but you need to release the heat from your head. While the majority of your heat does not leave from your head (another exercise myth), a good portion of it does. Also consider wearing white clothes, or a wet long-sleeved t-shirt.
That's heat management 101. I also recommend that you not train between 10-2, as this is when UVA rays are most prevalent. Refer to my post on vitamin D for more information about that. But if you do plan to race in a hot environment, then you need to plan some of your workouts for the late afternoon. Heat does not kill. Poor management of heat, improper training, and lack of preparation do.
Kevin
Destroying a Dogma: Don't Eat White Food
It's common to hear that "white food" is bad for you. Usually white refers to: Wonder Bread, flour, corn starch. But I'm going to go against the grain, again.
Not all white foods are bad. Consider button mushrooms and onions. Mushrooms are good sources of selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), copper, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium and phosphorus. Mushrooms also provide protection against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. Crimini and button mushrooms are also great sources of L-ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant.
Onions are another food that comes in a white variety. Onions can lower your blood glucose levels, decrease fasting blood glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance, lower insulin levels, and decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while increasing good HDL-cholesterol levels. Onions also benefit your heart, and can reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering levels of homocysteine levels. Regular onion consumption is also associated with decreased risk of colon, pancreatic, ovarian cancer, esophageal, laryngeal, and prostate cancer. If you're not eating onions, then you better start now! If you don't like onions, like my father, then try eating apples. Apples have a polyphenol called quercitin, an anti-inflammatory compound.
Cauliflower is a white cruciferous vegetable that has a nice crunch and a versatile vegetable. Cauliflower, as well as kale and broccoli, contain both glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which help the liver neutralize toxins. Cauliflower is packed with vitamin K, and vitamin C, and is also a great source of phytonutrients. Cruciferous vegetables also provide protection against prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Chicken- not all good white foods come from plants. Chicken is one of the best sources of protein. Since it's an animal source it contains all 20 essential amino acids, the basic component of proteins. Chicken is a terrific source of tryptophan, niacin, selenium, vitamin B6, and phosphorus. White chicken is almost fat free. Dark chicken contains the same nutrients, but has a little more fat, and because it contains more myoglobin, the hemoglobin of muscles.
The last white food I'd like to mention is my personal favorite food, bananas. First brought to the United States after the Civil War, this has become America's favorite fruit ever since, and for good reason. Bananas are good sources of potassium (500 mg). Bananas can lower blood pressure and prevent atherosclerosis. Potassium is an important electrolyte, which regulate heart function and fluid balance in the body. Bananas promote bone health, and are even sources of prebiotics, necessary fuel for probiotics, which promote proper intestinal health and digestion.
Chicken
So keep eating white food. Wonder Bread, white rice, starch and flour are still out, but not these foods.
Kevin
Not all white foods are bad. Consider button mushrooms and onions. Mushrooms are good sources of selenium, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), copper, niacin (vitamin B3), potassium and phosphorus. Mushrooms also provide protection against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. Crimini and button mushrooms are also great sources of L-ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant.
Onions are another food that comes in a white variety. Onions can lower your blood glucose levels, decrease fasting blood glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance, lower insulin levels, and decrease total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while increasing good HDL-cholesterol levels. Onions also benefit your heart, and can reduce your risk of heart disease by lowering levels of homocysteine levels. Regular onion consumption is also associated with decreased risk of colon, pancreatic, ovarian cancer, esophageal, laryngeal, and prostate cancer. If you're not eating onions, then you better start now! If you don't like onions, like my father, then try eating apples. Apples have a polyphenol called quercitin, an anti-inflammatory compound.
Cauliflower is a white cruciferous vegetable that has a nice crunch and a versatile vegetable. Cauliflower, as well as kale and broccoli, contain both glucosinolates and thiocyanates, which help the liver neutralize toxins. Cauliflower is packed with vitamin K, and vitamin C, and is also a great source of phytonutrients. Cruciferous vegetables also provide protection against prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Chicken- not all good white foods come from plants. Chicken is one of the best sources of protein. Since it's an animal source it contains all 20 essential amino acids, the basic component of proteins. Chicken is a terrific source of tryptophan, niacin, selenium, vitamin B6, and phosphorus. White chicken is almost fat free. Dark chicken contains the same nutrients, but has a little more fat, and because it contains more myoglobin, the hemoglobin of muscles.
The last white food I'd like to mention is my personal favorite food, bananas. First brought to the United States after the Civil War, this has become America's favorite fruit ever since, and for good reason. Bananas are good sources of potassium (500 mg). Bananas can lower blood pressure and prevent atherosclerosis. Potassium is an important electrolyte, which regulate heart function and fluid balance in the body. Bananas promote bone health, and are even sources of prebiotics, necessary fuel for probiotics, which promote proper intestinal health and digestion.
Chicken
So keep eating white food. Wonder Bread, white rice, starch and flour are still out, but not these foods.
Kevin
Weight Loss Rules
The first step in helping someone lose fat is changing what they eat. The second step is how they eat. I firmly believe that how you eat is as important as what you eat and how much you eat. So assuming the quality of your food is high and you're eating within your limits, then , then here are some ideas for you to help you lose fat.
Make sure you adhere to these rules most of the time. Don't get too excited, emotional, or distressed if you break them some of the time. But if you want to get leaner, then you have to eat like a lean man. If these habits seem alien to you, remember it takes about three-four weeks to develop and ingrain a new habit. Start with one at a time.
-Eating several meals throughout the day. It might seem hard, but you don't have to have a gourmet meal every time you eat. If you're like me, and you have no place to eat, and no appliances at work, then you'll have to play ahead. Healthy and convenient foods will be your weapon. I recommend Clif Nectar bar, Kind Bars, nuts, fresh fruit, baby carrots, chopped vegetables, jerky, and maybe a small salad. You can still eat these on the run. Certainly at some point during the day, you'll be able to slow down and have something substantial. On your days off, when you're at home, then you have no excuse to have four-five healthy meals throughout the day. On hectic days, I recommend at least two substantial meals, and then small snacks between those meals. If you can't have two substantial meals, reevaluate your life. Adhering to this rule means you need to prepare ahead, and you need to make sure your meals are small to medium, not Italian-style seven-course meals.
-Incorporate fiber into every meal. No, this does not mean Fiber One bars with a ton of preservatives. It could be as simple as having a pear, or a pile of vegetables with your lean protein. It could be a cup of soup. Beans have a ton of fiber, which is why their insulin index is so low. It's often said that grains have a lot of fiber, but they're concentrated sources of calories, so I recommend you get your fiber from somewhere else, like fruits and vegetables. Lean protein usually has no fiber (except beans), so if you eat a lot of meat, you'll have be to extra diligent about getting your fiber.
-Don't eat late at night. There's considerable debate about how fast your metabolism works throughout the day. Even if your metabolism worked at the same throughout the day, I have to say that eating most of your calories earlier benefits you in two ways. One, you're less likely to overeat at night. Late-night snacking can sabotage any fat-loss plan. Second, you're less active at night. Eat more after you workout when your cells are more receptive to carbs, not at night when you're not doing anything.
-Speaking of late-night eating, redefine what desert is. Why should desert have to be ice cream, cookies, pies, and other dense foods? The last thing you need is a ton of sugar and fat before going to bed. Desert usually comes after a big meal, which makes it even worse. Most ice cream has trans fat or other unrecognizable ingredients. If you want something else after your meal, then have some crudites and some fresh salsa or guacamole. It'll be more satisfying anyway. Sorbet is a good alternative to those who love ice cream. Also try a cup of soy or organic yogurt and add some blueberries. If you have to have a "traditional" desert like apple cobbler, make that your main course and have an appetizer as desert. Either way, desert will take you backwards in your goal to lose fat. And don't order desert at restaurants. Some have more calories than you need in a day. Don't fool yourself by sharing it, either.
There are my tips of the day. Make one change at a time!
Kevin
Make sure you adhere to these rules most of the time. Don't get too excited, emotional, or distressed if you break them some of the time. But if you want to get leaner, then you have to eat like a lean man. If these habits seem alien to you, remember it takes about three-four weeks to develop and ingrain a new habit. Start with one at a time.
-Eating several meals throughout the day. It might seem hard, but you don't have to have a gourmet meal every time you eat. If you're like me, and you have no place to eat, and no appliances at work, then you'll have to play ahead. Healthy and convenient foods will be your weapon. I recommend Clif Nectar bar, Kind Bars, nuts, fresh fruit, baby carrots, chopped vegetables, jerky, and maybe a small salad. You can still eat these on the run. Certainly at some point during the day, you'll be able to slow down and have something substantial. On your days off, when you're at home, then you have no excuse to have four-five healthy meals throughout the day. On hectic days, I recommend at least two substantial meals, and then small snacks between those meals. If you can't have two substantial meals, reevaluate your life. Adhering to this rule means you need to prepare ahead, and you need to make sure your meals are small to medium, not Italian-style seven-course meals.
-Incorporate fiber into every meal. No, this does not mean Fiber One bars with a ton of preservatives. It could be as simple as having a pear, or a pile of vegetables with your lean protein. It could be a cup of soup. Beans have a ton of fiber, which is why their insulin index is so low. It's often said that grains have a lot of fiber, but they're concentrated sources of calories, so I recommend you get your fiber from somewhere else, like fruits and vegetables. Lean protein usually has no fiber (except beans), so if you eat a lot of meat, you'll have be to extra diligent about getting your fiber.
-Don't eat late at night. There's considerable debate about how fast your metabolism works throughout the day. Even if your metabolism worked at the same throughout the day, I have to say that eating most of your calories earlier benefits you in two ways. One, you're less likely to overeat at night. Late-night snacking can sabotage any fat-loss plan. Second, you're less active at night. Eat more after you workout when your cells are more receptive to carbs, not at night when you're not doing anything.
-Speaking of late-night eating, redefine what desert is. Why should desert have to be ice cream, cookies, pies, and other dense foods? The last thing you need is a ton of sugar and fat before going to bed. Desert usually comes after a big meal, which makes it even worse. Most ice cream has trans fat or other unrecognizable ingredients. If you want something else after your meal, then have some crudites and some fresh salsa or guacamole. It'll be more satisfying anyway. Sorbet is a good alternative to those who love ice cream. Also try a cup of soy or organic yogurt and add some blueberries. If you have to have a "traditional" desert like apple cobbler, make that your main course and have an appetizer as desert. Either way, desert will take you backwards in your goal to lose fat. And don't order desert at restaurants. Some have more calories than you need in a day. Don't fool yourself by sharing it, either.
There are my tips of the day. Make one change at a time!
Kevin
Essential Supplement: Green Foods?
A good diet will contain at least 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, with vegetables comprising two thirds of those servings. But I understand that eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day can be a hassle. The problem with these foods is that you often have to prepare them, especially vegetables. Other than baby carrots, it's hard to find a vegetable that's convenient. So I understand, to an extent, why people don't eat enough of them. You have to have the proper cooking ware, the proper utinsils, and the proper environment to eat vegetables. This is not often the case.
If you're busy, or traveling, or you don't have time to sit down, then consider a green food. These products are usually derived from chlorella (pronounced kli RELL a, not like cholera, the intestinal disease), and immature grasses such as barley, wheat, and alfafa. I talked about gluten intolerence in a prevoius post. Wheatgrass does not contain any gluten, so you can consume it without any reaction.
How do you consume green foods? The easiest way is to mix it with water or juice. You don't need a lot. You can add one teaspoon to any concoction of berries, fruit, milk, or yogurt. I prefer not to use dairy products, so I would use a plant-based milk or soy yogurt. Blueberries and bananas make the best smoothies in my experience.
What are the benefits of green foods? Green foods have chlorophyll and phycocyanin. Chlorophyll inceases circulatoin, bolsters immunity and eliinates waste products. They promote production of killer cells in your immune system. Green foods contained a lot of vitamin A, gamma-linolenic acid, GLA, vitamin C, E, and antioxidants. Green food can also lower the acidity of your body.
One reason I don't eat a lot of animal food is because it increases the acidity of my body. This can leach calcium from bones. So this contradicts the common belief that milk and yogurt are good sources of calcium. In fact, too much dairy can reduce calcium in your bones. Is it any wonder that countries with the largest dairy intake have the highest rate of osteoperosis?
On the other hand, the vitamin K in green foods delivers circulating calcium to the bones. Green foods also contain magnesium and calcium. Green foods are alkaline so they reduce the acidity of the body.
I recommend the following green foods:
-Berlean's Greens
-Garden of Life
-Greens +
-Nature's Plus
-Paradise Herbs
-Superfood
-Alive! Energizer
You can find these at natural food stores or at Whole Foods. So if you don't want to prepare vegetables, or if you hate vegetables, or if vegetables aren't convenient, then I highly recommend a green food. Greens are an easy way to help you reach your goal of achieving 10 servings of fruits/vegetables per day. Green foods often come from organic sources. If you want to reduce you environmental footprint, then green food would make you more environmentally benign. Otherwise, the best thing to do is to consume vegetables in their natural state.
Kevin
If you're busy, or traveling, or you don't have time to sit down, then consider a green food. These products are usually derived from chlorella (pronounced kli RELL a, not like cholera, the intestinal disease), and immature grasses such as barley, wheat, and alfafa. I talked about gluten intolerence in a prevoius post. Wheatgrass does not contain any gluten, so you can consume it without any reaction.
How do you consume green foods? The easiest way is to mix it with water or juice. You don't need a lot. You can add one teaspoon to any concoction of berries, fruit, milk, or yogurt. I prefer not to use dairy products, so I would use a plant-based milk or soy yogurt. Blueberries and bananas make the best smoothies in my experience.
What are the benefits of green foods? Green foods have chlorophyll and phycocyanin. Chlorophyll inceases circulatoin, bolsters immunity and eliinates waste products. They promote production of killer cells in your immune system. Green foods contained a lot of vitamin A, gamma-linolenic acid, GLA, vitamin C, E, and antioxidants. Green food can also lower the acidity of your body.
One reason I don't eat a lot of animal food is because it increases the acidity of my body. This can leach calcium from bones. So this contradicts the common belief that milk and yogurt are good sources of calcium. In fact, too much dairy can reduce calcium in your bones. Is it any wonder that countries with the largest dairy intake have the highest rate of osteoperosis?
On the other hand, the vitamin K in green foods delivers circulating calcium to the bones. Green foods also contain magnesium and calcium. Green foods are alkaline so they reduce the acidity of the body.
I recommend the following green foods:
-Berlean's Greens
-Garden of Life
-Greens +
-Nature's Plus
-Paradise Herbs
-Superfood
-Alive! Energizer
You can find these at natural food stores or at Whole Foods. So if you don't want to prepare vegetables, or if you hate vegetables, or if vegetables aren't convenient, then I highly recommend a green food. Greens are an easy way to help you reach your goal of achieving 10 servings of fruits/vegetables per day. Green foods often come from organic sources. If you want to reduce you environmental footprint, then green food would make you more environmentally benign. Otherwise, the best thing to do is to consume vegetables in their natural state.
Kevin
Supplements Worth Considering- Straight to the Heart
If you want to improve your heart's health, there's nothing better than cardiovascular exercise. Even though I don't promote a lot of aerobic-based training, either for endurance athletes or for people looking to lose fat, aerobic exercise is good for the heart.
I also believe supplements are necessary for optimal health. I've written about vitamin D and fish oil, and now I'm about to recommend another supplement: Co-Enzyme Q10. Co-enzymes are just there: co-enzymes. They assist in certain processes in the body, and help enzymes carry out essential functions. They're like assistants for enzymes.
How important is CoQ-10? According to Stephen Sinatra, M.D., "if there's one thing you could do to maintain your heart's health, make sure you're taking CoQ-10 daily."
I also recommend L-carnitine, but not for fat loss, which is why it's typically used. The theory is that L-carnitine, an amino acid, helps shuttle fatty acids to the muscles for energy production. Since the heart is a muscle and gets 60% of its energy from fat, according to Jonny Bowden, it makes sense to take a supplement that helps your heart function. L-carnitine supplementation has been associated with reduced incidences of abnormal heart beats, second heart attacks, and less chest pain. If you've had heart problems, consider 2,000 mg of L-carnitine.
D-ribose is another supplement worth considering for heart health. Supplementation can reduce fatigue, soreness and stiffness after long-duration exercise. If you do endurance events, D-ribose might be something you'd want to consider. D-ribose can help whenever you've depleted your energy reserves. It helps the heart recover from exercise such as running or cycling.
You can get l-carnitine and CoQ10 through diet, but not nearly enough. Remember, supplementation allows you to what is optimal, not what is necessary.
I also believe supplements are necessary for optimal health. I've written about vitamin D and fish oil, and now I'm about to recommend another supplement: Co-Enzyme Q10. Co-enzymes are just there: co-enzymes. They assist in certain processes in the body, and help enzymes carry out essential functions. They're like assistants for enzymes.
How important is CoQ-10? According to Stephen Sinatra, M.D., "if there's one thing you could do to maintain your heart's health, make sure you're taking CoQ-10 daily."
I also recommend L-carnitine, but not for fat loss, which is why it's typically used. The theory is that L-carnitine, an amino acid, helps shuttle fatty acids to the muscles for energy production. Since the heart is a muscle and gets 60% of its energy from fat, according to Jonny Bowden, it makes sense to take a supplement that helps your heart function. L-carnitine supplementation has been associated with reduced incidences of abnormal heart beats, second heart attacks, and less chest pain. If you've had heart problems, consider 2,000 mg of L-carnitine.
D-ribose is another supplement worth considering for heart health. Supplementation can reduce fatigue, soreness and stiffness after long-duration exercise. If you do endurance events, D-ribose might be something you'd want to consider. D-ribose can help whenever you've depleted your energy reserves. It helps the heart recover from exercise such as running or cycling.
You can get l-carnitine and CoQ10 through diet, but not nearly enough. Remember, supplementation allows you to what is optimal, not what is necessary.
When to Use Weights
Strength training and weight training are almost synonymous. It seems that if you engage in resistance training, then you are automatically using weights. Perhaps this is because the original proponents of strength training were bodybuilders back in the '50s and '60s. Weights are just the standard tool for increasing strength and building muscle. Barbells, Olympic bars, dumbbells, bench presses, leg presses, machines, are use some form of weight.
Weights have their obvious advantage. Their the best way to build raw muscle. While other modalities, which I will discuss in a minute, help build strength, power, and endurance, they simply don't build muscle the same way that weights do. I'll admit that I don't understand the physiological difference between weight training and band training, for example, there's a reason why body builders and strength athletes prefer to use weights.
Weights have another advantage. It's easy to track progression. In order to get stronger, you have to overload your body. The easiest way to do this is to add weight to the bar, or to increase the number of reps you do with the same weight. It's easy to record weight on a sheet of paper. It's also to see your progress with weights.
But weights have disadvantages. It's so easy to cheat and use improper form when using weights. This applies especially to males. Men have a lot of vanity in the strength training room. They want to believe that they can use more weight than they can actually use. So when you say that weights are "dangerous", that's correct and incorrect. Too much weight is dangerous. But weights with good form is beneficial for muscle preservation and growth.
I see a lot of bad form in the gym. This doesn't mean that I think nobody should do weights, but I think a lot of people aren't really ready to use them. The prevalence of rounded backs, buckling knees, and weak core strength tells me that people need a much larger base before using weights.
A deconditioned person could still get a great workout using his own bodyweight. If you can't manage your own bodyweight, there's no reason you should be adding external loads to any exercise. This is how Alwyn Cosgrove trains his athletes, not just people looking to lose fat. Can you do a proper squat? Can you maintain a neutral spine while squatting? Can you even squat correctly? Do you have proper shoulder mobility and stability? Most people don't. We live in the broken society. Using weights will only exacerbate these imbalances.
If you can manage your bodyweight, then progress to a suspension trainer like the TRX. If you think push ups are easy, then put your feet on a stability ball or a bench. Use a Perfect Pushup. Put your feet in the TRX and do a pushup. Do a one-armed pushup. If you think pull ups are easy, do a one-arm pull up. Wrap a towel around a pull-up bar and attempt to pull your body. There are so many progressions to basic body weight exercises that people skip. Before doing these progressions, with no external load, then do not do weight training. Gravity is the ultimate resistance. If you can't do a pull up, then you have business doing T-bar rows, bent-over rows or cable pulls.
There are other alternatives to weights. You can use a weighted vest like the X-Vest to add difficulty to squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, running, and any other bodyweight exercise. It might be the best $200 investment you ever make.
Bands are definitely my preferred way to train. They are so versatile and functional, that they should be included in everybody's program, regardless whether or not your can do 10 pull ups, 100 push ups and and 10 one-leg squats. The movements you can perform with bands, or Freemotion's Cable Cross machine, are endless. You can add resistance to just about any movement, from lunges, step ups, punches, to throwing and rowing.
I often see people on machines. These machines cost hundreds of dollars. And yet the movement and muscles they're training could easily be trained using a $10 band. I don't know why people think they have to use such expensive apparatuses to train. Using bands is also a lot more functional. You can work all three planes of motion, while on a machine you're pretty much limited to one (almost always the sagittal). I can't think of a single machine that allows your body to move sideways.
Here's my theory of progression:
Bodyweight.
Bodyweight with weighted vest
Bands/pulleys/cable machines
Weights
Of course, this doesn't mean you can't mix and match these modalities. What I'm saying is that weights are the most advanced form of strength training. These are designed for people who can manage your bodyweight, use proper form on various exercises, and are looking to add mass or raw power. Strength athletes and power athletes, under the supervision of a coach or trainer, should use weights. But if you're using weights, you can also use bands. In fact, I encourage you to use bands in all your training.
If you can't manage your bodyweight, do that first. Out of 100 people, I bet 99 could not do 6 pulls ups, 5o pushups, or hold a plank position for 1:00. And out of those 100 people, I could find some serious posture deficiencies, imbalances, and weaknesses. Why, then, would they need or want to use weights?
Weights are sexy and popular, so they are another victim of training incest. Everybody else is doing it, so everybody should do it. I'm saying far fewer people should be using weights. There should be fewer weights in gyms, and more bands and pulley machines. But pushing a band into the air doesn't look as cool as throwing a dumbbell over your head.
Kevin
Weights have their obvious advantage. Their the best way to build raw muscle. While other modalities, which I will discuss in a minute, help build strength, power, and endurance, they simply don't build muscle the same way that weights do. I'll admit that I don't understand the physiological difference between weight training and band training, for example, there's a reason why body builders and strength athletes prefer to use weights.
Weights have another advantage. It's easy to track progression. In order to get stronger, you have to overload your body. The easiest way to do this is to add weight to the bar, or to increase the number of reps you do with the same weight. It's easy to record weight on a sheet of paper. It's also to see your progress with weights.
But weights have disadvantages. It's so easy to cheat and use improper form when using weights. This applies especially to males. Men have a lot of vanity in the strength training room. They want to believe that they can use more weight than they can actually use. So when you say that weights are "dangerous", that's correct and incorrect. Too much weight is dangerous. But weights with good form is beneficial for muscle preservation and growth.
I see a lot of bad form in the gym. This doesn't mean that I think nobody should do weights, but I think a lot of people aren't really ready to use them. The prevalence of rounded backs, buckling knees, and weak core strength tells me that people need a much larger base before using weights.
A deconditioned person could still get a great workout using his own bodyweight. If you can't manage your own bodyweight, there's no reason you should be adding external loads to any exercise. This is how Alwyn Cosgrove trains his athletes, not just people looking to lose fat. Can you do a proper squat? Can you maintain a neutral spine while squatting? Can you even squat correctly? Do you have proper shoulder mobility and stability? Most people don't. We live in the broken society. Using weights will only exacerbate these imbalances.
If you can manage your bodyweight, then progress to a suspension trainer like the TRX. If you think push ups are easy, then put your feet on a stability ball or a bench. Use a Perfect Pushup. Put your feet in the TRX and do a pushup. Do a one-armed pushup. If you think pull ups are easy, do a one-arm pull up. Wrap a towel around a pull-up bar and attempt to pull your body. There are so many progressions to basic body weight exercises that people skip. Before doing these progressions, with no external load, then do not do weight training. Gravity is the ultimate resistance. If you can't do a pull up, then you have business doing T-bar rows, bent-over rows or cable pulls.
There are other alternatives to weights. You can use a weighted vest like the X-Vest to add difficulty to squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups, running, and any other bodyweight exercise. It might be the best $200 investment you ever make.
Bands are definitely my preferred way to train. They are so versatile and functional, that they should be included in everybody's program, regardless whether or not your can do 10 pull ups, 100 push ups and and 10 one-leg squats. The movements you can perform with bands, or Freemotion's Cable Cross machine, are endless. You can add resistance to just about any movement, from lunges, step ups, punches, to throwing and rowing.
I often see people on machines. These machines cost hundreds of dollars. And yet the movement and muscles they're training could easily be trained using a $10 band. I don't know why people think they have to use such expensive apparatuses to train. Using bands is also a lot more functional. You can work all three planes of motion, while on a machine you're pretty much limited to one (almost always the sagittal). I can't think of a single machine that allows your body to move sideways.
Here's my theory of progression:
Bodyweight.
Bodyweight with weighted vest
Bands/pulleys/cable machines
Weights
Of course, this doesn't mean you can't mix and match these modalities. What I'm saying is that weights are the most advanced form of strength training. These are designed for people who can manage your bodyweight, use proper form on various exercises, and are looking to add mass or raw power. Strength athletes and power athletes, under the supervision of a coach or trainer, should use weights. But if you're using weights, you can also use bands. In fact, I encourage you to use bands in all your training.
If you can't manage your bodyweight, do that first. Out of 100 people, I bet 99 could not do 6 pulls ups, 5o pushups, or hold a plank position for 1:00. And out of those 100 people, I could find some serious posture deficiencies, imbalances, and weaknesses. Why, then, would they need or want to use weights?
Weights are sexy and popular, so they are another victim of training incest. Everybody else is doing it, so everybody should do it. I'm saying far fewer people should be using weights. There should be fewer weights in gyms, and more bands and pulley machines. But pushing a band into the air doesn't look as cool as throwing a dumbbell over your head.
Kevin
Do You Need a Fat Burner?
Fat burners are one of the most popular supplements on the market. What are they and how do they work? More importantly, do they work? Do you need them? Can they actually accelerate fat loss?
Fat burners really work in several ways.
Elevated heart rate. By stimulating parasympathetic nervous system, it elevates your heart rate, which elevates your metabolism, which increases the amount of energy you use, even at rest. How much? I'm not sure, but if you're on a very low calorie diet, you need to burn as much as possible.
Increased energy. Actually, fat burners don't provide any energy at all. Calories are energy. I'm talking about perceived energy, or at least alertness. If you're eating very few calories, you're less inclined to exercise or perform small daily tasks. Your body will do everything it can to reduce the amount of movement in your daily life. You'll be as lazy as possible. If you don't have the energy to walk an extra few steps at the mall, you'll have little motivation to do purposeful exercise.
More lypolysis. If you read this blog often, then you know what lypolysis means. Of course, I'm referring to burning fat. Fat burners often contain green tea extract, which some studies show can increase the number of calories you burn by a little. Other ingredients have limited support, but a lot of claims. Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid from seawood that supports metabolism by utilizing more energy within fat cells. Bluberry leaf promote glucose metabolism and stabilize blood sugar levels. Ashwangandha extract reduce cortisol, a hormone we release when we're stressed.
Preservatoin of lean body mass. Research has shown that Tonalin CLA and branched-chained amino acids can help preserve muscles mass while dieting. This is a good thing. These supplements do not increase energy expenditure or increase metabolism, but anything that preserves muscle mass is a good thing. Dieting can lower metabolism, which will make it impossible to lose weight.
Do you need a fat burner? If your diet is clean and you're consuming less than your body utilizes, and you're working out at least five hours per week, and you're doing at least 2.5 hours of high-intensity work, then a fat burner might be the missing ingredient. If your diet sucks and you're eating pasta and potatoes at night, and you're not working very much, a fat burner is a waste of your money. Eat clean, move a lot, and then consider a fat burner. But I'd rather you take something like CLA or BCAAs to preserve lean body mass, instead of elevating your heart rate all day.
Kevin
Fat burners really work in several ways.
Elevated heart rate. By stimulating parasympathetic nervous system, it elevates your heart rate, which elevates your metabolism, which increases the amount of energy you use, even at rest. How much? I'm not sure, but if you're on a very low calorie diet, you need to burn as much as possible.
Increased energy. Actually, fat burners don't provide any energy at all. Calories are energy. I'm talking about perceived energy, or at least alertness. If you're eating very few calories, you're less inclined to exercise or perform small daily tasks. Your body will do everything it can to reduce the amount of movement in your daily life. You'll be as lazy as possible. If you don't have the energy to walk an extra few steps at the mall, you'll have little motivation to do purposeful exercise.
More lypolysis. If you read this blog often, then you know what lypolysis means. Of course, I'm referring to burning fat. Fat burners often contain green tea extract, which some studies show can increase the number of calories you burn by a little. Other ingredients have limited support, but a lot of claims. Fucoxanthin is a carotenoid from seawood that supports metabolism by utilizing more energy within fat cells. Bluberry leaf promote glucose metabolism and stabilize blood sugar levels. Ashwangandha extract reduce cortisol, a hormone we release when we're stressed.
Preservatoin of lean body mass. Research has shown that Tonalin CLA and branched-chained amino acids can help preserve muscles mass while dieting. This is a good thing. These supplements do not increase energy expenditure or increase metabolism, but anything that preserves muscle mass is a good thing. Dieting can lower metabolism, which will make it impossible to lose weight.
Do you need a fat burner? If your diet is clean and you're consuming less than your body utilizes, and you're working out at least five hours per week, and you're doing at least 2.5 hours of high-intensity work, then a fat burner might be the missing ingredient. If your diet sucks and you're eating pasta and potatoes at night, and you're not working very much, a fat burner is a waste of your money. Eat clean, move a lot, and then consider a fat burner. But I'd rather you take something like CLA or BCAAs to preserve lean body mass, instead of elevating your heart rate all day.
Kevin
Improving Sleep
It seems weird that you can get increase your risk of obesity and fat gain by sleeping less. After all, you're not doing anything while you're sleeping. So how could more rest enhance your fat loss?
Sleep affects your endocrine, or hormonal, system. Low levels of sleep can increase a stress hormone called cortisol. Interestingly, some studies have shown that stress alone can cause weight gain. So quit worrying about your life, your job, your relationship, and your finances at night! Do that at work. But don't let your thoughts sabotage your sleep. Sleep also affects ghrelin and leptin, two hormones that control your appetite. Ghrelin makes you eat more, and leptin makes you eat less.
Getting enough sleep means you can recover faster. I believe the one reason that elite athletes perform so much better than age groupers is that elite athletes can rest and recover much more. Daily naps and 9-10 hours of sleep per night means they can perform better. They don't deal with 8-10 hour workdays, long commutes, and other stressers of life. Stanford University recently conducted a study that showed that tennis players hit harder and sprinted faster when they had 10 hours of sleep per night for six weeks. This is because during deep sleep, you experience rapid eye movement (REM). This strengthens neural connections created during training. During other periods of sleep, your muscles are repairing themselves. Perhaps this is the elusive answer to why we sleep.
The other way sleep can help you lose fat is that it gives you more energy throughout the day. If you're tired and beat up from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed, how likely are you going to work out or train? Even if you do, you're not going to have a very effective training session.
This country is sleep-deprived. Look at the people on the Metro and it won't take long to see that most people need more sleep. I don't see how this can be, when we're only working on average 40 hours per week. Perhaps it's the long commutes, too much TV, or too many other obligations.
Fortunately, your diet can improve you sleep. I recommend making small changes.
First, avoid large doses of caffeine late at night. Caffeine is in stimulates for a reason. Caffeine increases your heart rate and activates your peri-sympathetic nervous system, or fight-or-flight system. At night, I usually drink non-decaffeinated tea and soda. A little caffeine is tolerable, but if you really can't sleep, try to completely eliminate caffeine after 5:00.
Don't eat too much at night. Not only are big meals at night more likely lead to fat gain, but large meals can stimulate blood flow to your stomach, which releases gastric acid. Your pancreas and intestine work extra hard. Instead, frontload your calories. That is, eat more at breakfast. Your blood glucose levels are low and you should restore them. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating small meals throughout the day. Eating a good breakfast, eating small meals throughout the day, eating unprocessed foods, limiting caffeine, and limiting alcohol are all good ideas anyway. Improving sleep is just one more reason to implement these habits.
Don't go below the critical threshold. If you're a guy, don't go below 1800 calories per day. I don't care how fast you want to lose fat, or how big you are, or how inactive you are. You risk nutritional deficiencies, loss of strength, loss of bone mass, loss of muscle mass, and can negatively affect your sleep. Make sure you get enough calcium, zinc, iron, and copper, all essential minerals. Zinc, found in crab, oysters, and beef, can prevent insomnia. Copper is usually found in nuts and dark leafy greens. Iron, especially heme iron, is found mainly in meat, but also in beans and seafood. Good sources of calcium are beans, almonds, dark leafy greens, orange juice, and supplements. Even though dairy is considered a good source of calcium, dairy intake is inversely related to osteoporosis! Go figure.
Some evidence shows that zinc-magnesium supplments (ZMA) can improve your sleep. I haven't tried it myself but the anecdotal evidence increases every day.
These are ways that diet can improve your sleep. Stay tuned for other ways to make you sleep better. If diet isn't the answer, there be other causes.
Kevin
Sleep affects your endocrine, or hormonal, system. Low levels of sleep can increase a stress hormone called cortisol. Interestingly, some studies have shown that stress alone can cause weight gain. So quit worrying about your life, your job, your relationship, and your finances at night! Do that at work. But don't let your thoughts sabotage your sleep. Sleep also affects ghrelin and leptin, two hormones that control your appetite. Ghrelin makes you eat more, and leptin makes you eat less.
Getting enough sleep means you can recover faster. I believe the one reason that elite athletes perform so much better than age groupers is that elite athletes can rest and recover much more. Daily naps and 9-10 hours of sleep per night means they can perform better. They don't deal with 8-10 hour workdays, long commutes, and other stressers of life. Stanford University recently conducted a study that showed that tennis players hit harder and sprinted faster when they had 10 hours of sleep per night for six weeks. This is because during deep sleep, you experience rapid eye movement (REM). This strengthens neural connections created during training. During other periods of sleep, your muscles are repairing themselves. Perhaps this is the elusive answer to why we sleep.
The other way sleep can help you lose fat is that it gives you more energy throughout the day. If you're tired and beat up from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed, how likely are you going to work out or train? Even if you do, you're not going to have a very effective training session.
This country is sleep-deprived. Look at the people on the Metro and it won't take long to see that most people need more sleep. I don't see how this can be, when we're only working on average 40 hours per week. Perhaps it's the long commutes, too much TV, or too many other obligations.
Fortunately, your diet can improve you sleep. I recommend making small changes.
First, avoid large doses of caffeine late at night. Caffeine is in stimulates for a reason. Caffeine increases your heart rate and activates your peri-sympathetic nervous system, or fight-or-flight system. At night, I usually drink non-decaffeinated tea and soda. A little caffeine is tolerable, but if you really can't sleep, try to completely eliminate caffeine after 5:00.
Don't eat too much at night. Not only are big meals at night more likely lead to fat gain, but large meals can stimulate blood flow to your stomach, which releases gastric acid. Your pancreas and intestine work extra hard. Instead, frontload your calories. That is, eat more at breakfast. Your blood glucose levels are low and you should restore them. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating small meals throughout the day. Eating a good breakfast, eating small meals throughout the day, eating unprocessed foods, limiting caffeine, and limiting alcohol are all good ideas anyway. Improving sleep is just one more reason to implement these habits.
Don't go below the critical threshold. If you're a guy, don't go below 1800 calories per day. I don't care how fast you want to lose fat, or how big you are, or how inactive you are. You risk nutritional deficiencies, loss of strength, loss of bone mass, loss of muscle mass, and can negatively affect your sleep. Make sure you get enough calcium, zinc, iron, and copper, all essential minerals. Zinc, found in crab, oysters, and beef, can prevent insomnia. Copper is usually found in nuts and dark leafy greens. Iron, especially heme iron, is found mainly in meat, but also in beans and seafood. Good sources of calcium are beans, almonds, dark leafy greens, orange juice, and supplements. Even though dairy is considered a good source of calcium, dairy intake is inversely related to osteoporosis! Go figure.
Some evidence shows that zinc-magnesium supplments (ZMA) can improve your sleep. I haven't tried it myself but the anecdotal evidence increases every day.
These are ways that diet can improve your sleep. Stay tuned for other ways to make you sleep better. If diet isn't the answer, there be other causes.
Kevin
Detox Your Detox Program
I've mentioned training incest, which is doing what others are doing without considering your own strengths, abilities, goals, and your program. Now I'd like to talk about dieting incest, which is eating or drinking what others are doing, with taking into account your body type, your needs, and your goals.
A big trend in the diet industry is "detoxing." Raw Cleanse and Total Detox are two good examples. They claim, for only $30 or $40, you can take their pills and rid your body of all toxins and harmful substances. Makers of these products claims that raw foods and juices are essential ingredients of any detox programs, and yet turn around and say that you need their products to detoxify your body.
Detoxing programs are largely popular because of the backlash against chemicals and anything man-made in the last 15 years. Natural, green, and organic sell; processed, chemical, industrial are all bad words these days. We live in a polluted environment, there's a greater awareness of the environment, climate change, and integrative health. As a result, pushers of detoxing programs appeal to that emotion- without detoxinig, we're victims of the industrial wasteland. The only way to restore our natural health and purge ourselves of toxins, we need to take pills and powders.
There's almost not science supporting these products. The FDA has not verified it. But there is plenty of evidence that shows organic fruits and vegetables can detoxify your body naturally, without the extra expense of some detox program.
These products are nothing more than repackaged fruits and vegetables. If raw food and juice is what you need to detoxify your body, then eat them! Don't pay for overpriced detox programs. They contain what natural food already has: probiotics, antioxidants.
Antioxidants and natural food will detoxify your body, and will relieve oxidative stress in your body caused by free radicals. Fiber is also critical for detoxing your body. Fiber can trap toxins and remove them from the body. Where do you get fiber? Fruits and vegetables. Vegetables in general promote gastro-intestinal health.
Kevin
A big trend in the diet industry is "detoxing." Raw Cleanse and Total Detox are two good examples. They claim, for only $30 or $40, you can take their pills and rid your body of all toxins and harmful substances. Makers of these products claims that raw foods and juices are essential ingredients of any detox programs, and yet turn around and say that you need their products to detoxify your body.
Detoxing programs are largely popular because of the backlash against chemicals and anything man-made in the last 15 years. Natural, green, and organic sell; processed, chemical, industrial are all bad words these days. We live in a polluted environment, there's a greater awareness of the environment, climate change, and integrative health. As a result, pushers of detoxing programs appeal to that emotion- without detoxinig, we're victims of the industrial wasteland. The only way to restore our natural health and purge ourselves of toxins, we need to take pills and powders.
There's almost not science supporting these products. The FDA has not verified it. But there is plenty of evidence that shows organic fruits and vegetables can detoxify your body naturally, without the extra expense of some detox program.
These products are nothing more than repackaged fruits and vegetables. If raw food and juice is what you need to detoxify your body, then eat them! Don't pay for overpriced detox programs. They contain what natural food already has: probiotics, antioxidants.
Antioxidants and natural food will detoxify your body, and will relieve oxidative stress in your body caused by free radicals. Fiber is also critical for detoxing your body. Fiber can trap toxins and remove them from the body. Where do you get fiber? Fruits and vegetables. Vegetables in general promote gastro-intestinal health.
Kevin
Bar None
The last ten years has seen an explosion of energy bars on the market. It used to be Powerbars had no competition. They weren't popular due to their horrible taste and chewy texture. But America's demand for convenience has forced manufacturers to create a wide array of bars that serves every preference. Some have more protein than others. Some have "super green" foods. Some are organic and pretty simple, others have a few more ingredients. Some are designed to aid in weight loss, some aid in muscle growth. They make remarkable claims, have appetizing packaging, and look tasty. I'm going to make my personal recommendations, and tell you which bars to avoid.
Here's a dirty secret you don't know: gelatin and hydrolzed collagen are crap. They aren't complete proteins. And bars often contain less protein than what is displayed on the label. And don't think glycerin has no carbs; it does. I can't believe bar manufacturers still advertise this and get away with it. So even if it says it has 10 grasm of protein, it probably doens't. If it doesn't have extra protein, that means it's no better than a candy bar. And instead of whey proteins, many bars contain a lot of sugar. Snynonyms include corn syrup, sucrose, brown rice syrup, maltodextrin, and others. One teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams. Sugar free bars have calories too. If it has no sugar, it has sugar alcohols, which aren't as sweet as sugar, so more are used. They can also cause GI distress.
Almost every bar on the market contains one of the following: whey, wheat, soy, or peanuts. And most bars are nothing more than what Marion Nestle calls over-hyped cookie bars. Sometimes these bars are no better than Snickers bars, except with a little more protein. Many have high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, allergens, trans fat, and palm oil. They're convenient, but not necessarily healthy.
There is only bar I know of that has none of these allergens: Enjoy Life bars. They're not that big, but they contain brown rice and other ingredients that won't trigger an alergic reaction. Clif Nectar bars have walnuts, but most people who can't tolerate peanuts can tolerate walnuts, which contain a good amount of ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid. Clif Nectar bars have about 160 calories, and the only other ingredients are vanilla extract, dates, and cocoa. Flavors include dark chocolate (my favorite), apricot, lemon, and pomegranate. Think Thin bars and Weil bars are pretty much the same in terms of ingredients. The only problems with these bars is that they contain too many carbs in relation to the amount of protein. A Weil bar has 27 carbs but only 3 grams of protein.
Kind Bars are also excellent. They are nothing more than a collection of coagulated nuts with some honey holding the bar together. Some bars include a small amount of soy but the amount is minimal and you shouldn't even count it. Kind Bars are fat bars because the majority of the ingredients are nuts. The nuts also have some protein. These bars are perfect for low-carbohydrate diets. Some Kind bars have as much as 7 grams of protein. Protein and fat is a great combination at the end of the day.
Soy is the most ubiquitous ingredient in energy bars. All other forms of Clif bars have soy, in the form of isolates, hydroisolates, or soy lecithin. Atkins bars, Nature's Valley, Powerbars, Zone bars, Steel bars, Protein Crunch, and all other popular protein bars have soy. I guarantee it. Find me one bar that doesn't have soy and I'll buy an entire case for you. I don't want to go into the politics of soy, but soy is cheap, and the soy industry has infiltrated just about every product on the market. Beware of the soy! Too much soy actually has an estrogenic effect. That is, it can enlarge the mammary glands in males. I'm not saying you'll grow boobs when you soy, but I can't see how much too much soy is a good thing.
Also keep in mind that "energy bars" are a misnomer. They should be called food bars. Calories are energy. These bars have plenty of those! But many can raise your blood sugar and make you crash. I think we often confuse "energy" with "alertness." These "energy" bars won't improve your performance.
If you're going to eat a bar, look for one with less than 200 calories. I think bars are poor meal replacements. Five bites of a bar are not going to satisfy you. Avoid bars that have 30 grams of protein. They promise to make you bigger, but you won't gain muscle! If you're going to eat an energy bar, get something small like an Atkins bar, Power Crunch or a Clif Nectar bar. These bars should be snacks, not meals. Good bars will have natural sources of fiber. Look for at least three grams. And no, Fiber One bars are not good sources of fiber.
I'm currently making a table of all energy bars on the market. I'm going to include calories, fat, carbs, protein, and certain ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, added sugar, trans fat, fractionated fats, whey, soy, wheat, nuts. It will be the most comprehensive list, anywhere.
Kevin
Here's a dirty secret you don't know: gelatin and hydrolzed collagen are crap. They aren't complete proteins. And bars often contain less protein than what is displayed on the label. And don't think glycerin has no carbs; it does. I can't believe bar manufacturers still advertise this and get away with it. So even if it says it has 10 grasm of protein, it probably doens't. If it doesn't have extra protein, that means it's no better than a candy bar. And instead of whey proteins, many bars contain a lot of sugar. Snynonyms include corn syrup, sucrose, brown rice syrup, maltodextrin, and others. One teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams. Sugar free bars have calories too. If it has no sugar, it has sugar alcohols, which aren't as sweet as sugar, so more are used. They can also cause GI distress.
Almost every bar on the market contains one of the following: whey, wheat, soy, or peanuts. And most bars are nothing more than what Marion Nestle calls over-hyped cookie bars. Sometimes these bars are no better than Snickers bars, except with a little more protein. Many have high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, allergens, trans fat, and palm oil. They're convenient, but not necessarily healthy.
There is only bar I know of that has none of these allergens: Enjoy Life bars. They're not that big, but they contain brown rice and other ingredients that won't trigger an alergic reaction. Clif Nectar bars have walnuts, but most people who can't tolerate peanuts can tolerate walnuts, which contain a good amount of ALA, an omega-3 fatty acid. Clif Nectar bars have about 160 calories, and the only other ingredients are vanilla extract, dates, and cocoa. Flavors include dark chocolate (my favorite), apricot, lemon, and pomegranate. Think Thin bars and Weil bars are pretty much the same in terms of ingredients. The only problems with these bars is that they contain too many carbs in relation to the amount of protein. A Weil bar has 27 carbs but only 3 grams of protein.
Kind Bars are also excellent. They are nothing more than a collection of coagulated nuts with some honey holding the bar together. Some bars include a small amount of soy but the amount is minimal and you shouldn't even count it. Kind Bars are fat bars because the majority of the ingredients are nuts. The nuts also have some protein. These bars are perfect for low-carbohydrate diets. Some Kind bars have as much as 7 grams of protein. Protein and fat is a great combination at the end of the day.
Soy is the most ubiquitous ingredient in energy bars. All other forms of Clif bars have soy, in the form of isolates, hydroisolates, or soy lecithin. Atkins bars, Nature's Valley, Powerbars, Zone bars, Steel bars, Protein Crunch, and all other popular protein bars have soy. I guarantee it. Find me one bar that doesn't have soy and I'll buy an entire case for you. I don't want to go into the politics of soy, but soy is cheap, and the soy industry has infiltrated just about every product on the market. Beware of the soy! Too much soy actually has an estrogenic effect. That is, it can enlarge the mammary glands in males. I'm not saying you'll grow boobs when you soy, but I can't see how much too much soy is a good thing.
Also keep in mind that "energy bars" are a misnomer. They should be called food bars. Calories are energy. These bars have plenty of those! But many can raise your blood sugar and make you crash. I think we often confuse "energy" with "alertness." These "energy" bars won't improve your performance.
If you're going to eat a bar, look for one with less than 200 calories. I think bars are poor meal replacements. Five bites of a bar are not going to satisfy you. Avoid bars that have 30 grams of protein. They promise to make you bigger, but you won't gain muscle! If you're going to eat an energy bar, get something small like an Atkins bar, Power Crunch or a Clif Nectar bar. These bars should be snacks, not meals. Good bars will have natural sources of fiber. Look for at least three grams. And no, Fiber One bars are not good sources of fiber.
I'm currently making a table of all energy bars on the market. I'm going to include calories, fat, carbs, protein, and certain ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, added sugar, trans fat, fractionated fats, whey, soy, wheat, nuts. It will be the most comprehensive list, anywhere.
Kevin
Over Analysis?
Organic or not organic? Raw or processed? Pasteurized or raw? Red or green? Frozen or canned? Absolutely no soy, wheat, dairy, and eggs, or maybe just a little? No artificial sweeteners?
If you're asking these questions, you're probably over-analyzing your diet too much. My diet is the short-ingredient diet, for sure. Nothing I eat has any more than six ingredients (okay the canned salmon and vegetables has eight, but it's all natural ingredients.) That's usually what I tell people to do. If a person's diet is atrocious, I focus on quality first, and then quantity and then timing. Telling them to eat a particular percentage of calories, and to eat a particular ratio of carbs and protein 35 minutes after a workout is too confusing.
Your diet should be as natural as possible: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, organic, free range meat, seafood, and maybe a few grains (quinoa if possible, but not technically a grain). Dairy is optional. You shouldn't eat processed foods and avoid anything with a lot of sugar.
Sometimes, however, we want to enhance our diet even more. Fruit in a can is still fruit, but it's still a concentrated source of sugar, for example. And even when we think we're eating okay, we learn that common ingredients such as wheat, soy, and dairy, and artificial sweeteners aren't really good for us after all. Yet they are so ubiquitous that they're almost impossible not to eat. Almost everything on the supermarket shelf has a common allergen. That prepackaged tuna salad I wanted to buy has soybean oil. Good god!
Improvements
Here are some simple ways you can enhance your diet
Good: fruits and vegetables
Better: organic fruits and vegetables
Good: canned fruits and vegetables
Better: frozen fruits and vegetables
Good: peanut butter
Better: Raw almond butter
Good: lean meat
Better: grass-fed, organic meat
Good: seafood
Better: only particular types of seafood. Wild Alaskan salmon. Farm-raised tilapia. Sardines. Yellowfish tuna.
Good: "Healthy" bread and energy bars
Better: Limited grains, soy, wheat, dairy, peanuts, eggs
As you can see, even if you think you're eating "healthy," there's always a healthier option.
But are these ingredients really going to kill us? Probably not, at least not in insignificant quantities. Even so, nobody knows how much of any of the crap is in our food. They aren't measured like macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. And since humans aren't really designed to eat anything but unprocessed, natural food, it's probably a good idea to err on the safe side and not consume much of these ingredients.
While I commend people for improving their diet, you can oveanalyze your diet. It's not necessary to eat everything organic. It's not necessary to avoid tofu, tempeh, and tamari just because it has soy. It's not necessary to avoid a sauce because it has wheat gluten in it. But don't make any of these foods staples of your diet. If there is an alternative without these ingredients (and these days, they aren't hard to find), then choose the alternative. Going from junk food to more produce and fresh meat is a huge improvement. Going from a little wheat in your diet to no wheat is not as beneficial, and is much harder to do. It's like training for a sport. A deconditioned athlete will make initial improvement fast, but Olympic-level athletes have to train for years to make just the smallest improvement. Fine, subtle improvements in your diet are the same. I'm trying to eliminate all common allergens (wheat, soy, dairy, corn, eggs, but not fish) from my diet, and it's a true challenge!
It's important to adhere to your principles most of the time. I would aim for 90% of the time. If 90% of your food is unadulterated, unprocessed, and doesn't come in a package, then you're fine. If the majority of your food has a long list of ingredients, it's time to make some changes. Most people would be shocked to see how much crap is actually in their food. Even mustard these days has high fructose corn syrup, and rice bowls and pre-cooked enchiladas have a lot more than fresh vegetables and a corn tortilla. As much as I prefer to eat naturally, even I drink diet tea and soda. But most of the fluid I drink is water and tea. I feel excess sugar will kill me before a little Splenda in my diet. Too much, as you know, can wreck havoc on your body. So moderation is the key.
Follow this rule: if your food is convenient and ready-made, you might want to check the ingredients. Those products have long shelf lives because of the preservatives in them. Natural food doesn't last long; processed food does. Don't you ever wonder how peanut butter can sit in a pantry for a year?
Take home message: do your best. Try to remove most allergens from your diet. Avoid packaged food. Eat as natural as possible. Adhere to these principles 90% of the time. Initial improvements in your diet are easy. Aiming for perfection is difficult, and you can spend all day trying to adhere to a 100% natural, unadulterated diet.
Kevin
If you're asking these questions, you're probably over-analyzing your diet too much. My diet is the short-ingredient diet, for sure. Nothing I eat has any more than six ingredients (okay the canned salmon and vegetables has eight, but it's all natural ingredients.) That's usually what I tell people to do. If a person's diet is atrocious, I focus on quality first, and then quantity and then timing. Telling them to eat a particular percentage of calories, and to eat a particular ratio of carbs and protein 35 minutes after a workout is too confusing.
Your diet should be as natural as possible: fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, organic, free range meat, seafood, and maybe a few grains (quinoa if possible, but not technically a grain). Dairy is optional. You shouldn't eat processed foods and avoid anything with a lot of sugar.
Sometimes, however, we want to enhance our diet even more. Fruit in a can is still fruit, but it's still a concentrated source of sugar, for example. And even when we think we're eating okay, we learn that common ingredients such as wheat, soy, and dairy, and artificial sweeteners aren't really good for us after all. Yet they are so ubiquitous that they're almost impossible not to eat. Almost everything on the supermarket shelf has a common allergen. That prepackaged tuna salad I wanted to buy has soybean oil. Good god!
Improvements
Here are some simple ways you can enhance your diet
Good: fruits and vegetables
Better: organic fruits and vegetables
Good: canned fruits and vegetables
Better: frozen fruits and vegetables
Good: peanut butter
Better: Raw almond butter
Good: lean meat
Better: grass-fed, organic meat
Good: seafood
Better: only particular types of seafood. Wild Alaskan salmon. Farm-raised tilapia. Sardines. Yellowfish tuna.
Good: "Healthy" bread and energy bars
Better: Limited grains, soy, wheat, dairy, peanuts, eggs
As you can see, even if you think you're eating "healthy," there's always a healthier option.
But are these ingredients really going to kill us? Probably not, at least not in insignificant quantities. Even so, nobody knows how much of any of the crap is in our food. They aren't measured like macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. And since humans aren't really designed to eat anything but unprocessed, natural food, it's probably a good idea to err on the safe side and not consume much of these ingredients.
While I commend people for improving their diet, you can oveanalyze your diet. It's not necessary to eat everything organic. It's not necessary to avoid tofu, tempeh, and tamari just because it has soy. It's not necessary to avoid a sauce because it has wheat gluten in it. But don't make any of these foods staples of your diet. If there is an alternative without these ingredients (and these days, they aren't hard to find), then choose the alternative. Going from junk food to more produce and fresh meat is a huge improvement. Going from a little wheat in your diet to no wheat is not as beneficial, and is much harder to do. It's like training for a sport. A deconditioned athlete will make initial improvement fast, but Olympic-level athletes have to train for years to make just the smallest improvement. Fine, subtle improvements in your diet are the same. I'm trying to eliminate all common allergens (wheat, soy, dairy, corn, eggs, but not fish) from my diet, and it's a true challenge!
It's important to adhere to your principles most of the time. I would aim for 90% of the time. If 90% of your food is unadulterated, unprocessed, and doesn't come in a package, then you're fine. If the majority of your food has a long list of ingredients, it's time to make some changes. Most people would be shocked to see how much crap is actually in their food. Even mustard these days has high fructose corn syrup, and rice bowls and pre-cooked enchiladas have a lot more than fresh vegetables and a corn tortilla. As much as I prefer to eat naturally, even I drink diet tea and soda. But most of the fluid I drink is water and tea. I feel excess sugar will kill me before a little Splenda in my diet. Too much, as you know, can wreck havoc on your body. So moderation is the key.
Follow this rule: if your food is convenient and ready-made, you might want to check the ingredients. Those products have long shelf lives because of the preservatives in them. Natural food doesn't last long; processed food does. Don't you ever wonder how peanut butter can sit in a pantry for a year?
Take home message: do your best. Try to remove most allergens from your diet. Avoid packaged food. Eat as natural as possible. Adhere to these principles 90% of the time. Initial improvements in your diet are easy. Aiming for perfection is difficult, and you can spend all day trying to adhere to a 100% natural, unadulterated diet.
Kevin
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Sideways
Recently I've noticed people walking sideways on the treadmill and Stairmasters. This might seem silly and it might be a fad, but I think people might actually be trying something that really works! The gym is often the scene of many fads and trendy workout protocols. Good examples include Kettlebells, kickboxing classes, and Bosu balls. It shouldn't be that way. Exercise science shouldn't be be like clothes and fashion. It shouldn't be based on what looks good and what doesn't. Instead, it should be based on results.
I think there is some validity to walking sideways. I need to establish some basic physiology for you. Movement patterns are divided into three planes: the sagittal, frontal, and transverse plane. The sagittal plane divides the body into the left/right side. The frontal plane divides the body into the front and back half. The transverse plane divides the body into the top and bottom. Almost all human movement involves the sagittal plane: running, walking, racking, shoveling, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc. So the frontal plane often gets neglected. We might bend sideways to grab something, but most of the time we will bend over forwards or reach backwards. Most people in the gym do things in the sagittal plane, because there are few cardio or weight machines that actually allow you to move sideways: treadmills, preacher curl machines, t-supported rows, bicycles, rowing machines.
Some sports, however, give us the chance to work the frontal plane. Good examples include hockey (imagine a player moving his skates back and forth), soccer, rugby, tennis, and basketball. Those sports require rapid change in direction and agility. That's probably why ACL tears almost always occur during those sports. Even so, very few people play those sports for an appreciable amount of time to really work the frontal plane. And most of the time, they're in the sagittal plane.
Anyway, running or hopping sideways can be beneficial. If you think walking sideways on a treadmill looks silly, even though it might be effective, you can also incorporate frontal plane work into your strength training routine. Instead of doing traditional squats, do side squats. Step to the left with your left leg, and then stretch your right leg and bend your left leg. You can also do sideways lunges. I prefer to do these exercises with bands and pulleys attached to a weight belt.
Even if you incorporate frontal plane work into your routine, you're still going to be in the sagittal plane most of the time. If you play soccer or any other explosive sport, then you must incorporate frontal plane work into your training. By not doing so, you're setting yourself up for injury. You have to train for the demands of your sport.
As a triathlete, I have to question how important it is to train the frontal plane. After all, swimmers, bikers, runners, and rowers don't spend much time going sideways! So how important is it that endurance athletes incorporate the frontal plane? I imagine it's not going to improve performance much, but it's never a bad thing to train all patterns of movement, muscles, and to perform different muscles. This is especially true during the offseason. Athletes have spent the last eight or nine months doing the same repetitive movements, so going sideways couldn't hurt.
So don't laugh at people walking sideways. They have science to support them. But I feel moving sideways is just another fad. It's only cool when only a few people do it.
Kevin
I think there is some validity to walking sideways. I need to establish some basic physiology for you. Movement patterns are divided into three planes: the sagittal, frontal, and transverse plane. The sagittal plane divides the body into the left/right side. The frontal plane divides the body into the front and back half. The transverse plane divides the body into the top and bottom. Almost all human movement involves the sagittal plane: running, walking, racking, shoveling, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc. So the frontal plane often gets neglected. We might bend sideways to grab something, but most of the time we will bend over forwards or reach backwards. Most people in the gym do things in the sagittal plane, because there are few cardio or weight machines that actually allow you to move sideways: treadmills, preacher curl machines, t-supported rows, bicycles, rowing machines.
Some sports, however, give us the chance to work the frontal plane. Good examples include hockey (imagine a player moving his skates back and forth), soccer, rugby, tennis, and basketball. Those sports require rapid change in direction and agility. That's probably why ACL tears almost always occur during those sports. Even so, very few people play those sports for an appreciable amount of time to really work the frontal plane. And most of the time, they're in the sagittal plane.
Anyway, running or hopping sideways can be beneficial. If you think walking sideways on a treadmill looks silly, even though it might be effective, you can also incorporate frontal plane work into your strength training routine. Instead of doing traditional squats, do side squats. Step to the left with your left leg, and then stretch your right leg and bend your left leg. You can also do sideways lunges. I prefer to do these exercises with bands and pulleys attached to a weight belt.
Even if you incorporate frontal plane work into your routine, you're still going to be in the sagittal plane most of the time. If you play soccer or any other explosive sport, then you must incorporate frontal plane work into your training. By not doing so, you're setting yourself up for injury. You have to train for the demands of your sport.
As a triathlete, I have to question how important it is to train the frontal plane. After all, swimmers, bikers, runners, and rowers don't spend much time going sideways! So how important is it that endurance athletes incorporate the frontal plane? I imagine it's not going to improve performance much, but it's never a bad thing to train all patterns of movement, muscles, and to perform different muscles. This is especially true during the offseason. Athletes have spent the last eight or nine months doing the same repetitive movements, so going sideways couldn't hurt.
So don't laugh at people walking sideways. They have science to support them. But I feel moving sideways is just another fad. It's only cool when only a few people do it.
Kevin
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Alcohol and Fat Loss
The other night my sister was pouring herself a glass of red wine that had been sitting on the counter for a few weeks. She offered me a glass and I pleasantly declined. She told me that having a glass of wine with friends was one of life's greatest pleasures.
I'm here to talk about wine, alcohol, and fat loss. I'm going to tell you right now that if you want to stay lean or are trying to get lean, then stop drinking wine and alcohol.
According to Susan Kleiner, the author of Power Eating, "alcohol puts fat metabolism on hold. It's not your friend if you're trying to stay lean." I think that summarizes this post. If you want to metabolize fat, then don't drink alcohol.
Here's how alcohol works in your body: alcohol goes to the liver, which processes and removes toxins from your body (this is why excessive alcohol consumption can cause cirrhosis). As long as the liver is busy oxidizing alcohol, it isn't oxidizing anything else. Meanwhile, the other macronutrients in your body cannot be utilized. Lyle Macdonald writes in The Ketogenic Diet, "alcohol consumption will almost completely impair the body's use of fat for fuel." So if those macronutrients aren't being utilized, then what are they doing? They're making you fat!
The metabolization of fat also depletes your body of vitamins and water-soluble minerals, niacin and thiamin in particular. It ruins the lining of your stomach and impairs digestion. It can dehydrate you, and even lower your testosterone production. Not only do you get fat, but you lose your ability to build muscle. A double whammy.
If that weren't bad enough, alcohol is devoid of nutrients. It's empty calories. It has some vitamins and nutrients, but not much. The media have touted the benefits of resveretrol, a compound in wine that can protect against cardiovascular disease because its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Okay, but if you want resveratrol, you can eat grapes. Not only that, but resveratrol needs to be present in such large quantities to have any significant impact.
If you must have alcohol, then drink one small glass of red wine per night, or every other night. Remember, the larger and heavier you are, the more you can tolerate. Men can tolerate more than women. Avoid martinis, daiquiris, and margaritas. Don't have multiple drinks and never, ever binge. Just realize that every glass you drink is taking your backwards, not forwards. How badly do you want to lose fat? If you drink every night, you need to question your commitment to your fitness goals.
How much do you want to drink alcohol? That's a question you have to decide for yourself. If you want to lose fat more than you want to drink alcohol, then cut it out immediately. At the very most you should have no more than a few glasses per week.
Keep in mind that a "glass" should be a tall glass of about 5-6 oz of alcohol. Alcohol is calorically dense. It provides seven calories per each gram. That's more than carbs or protein, but less than fat. Anything beyond "moderation" is going to ruin your fat loss efforts.
Of course athletes consume alcohol sometimes. But they are using enormous amounts of energy each day, and one or two glasses is hardly going to dent their performance. They could probably use the extra calories.
Kevin
PS- I'm reading the New Testament right now, and I've noticed several references to wine. Since this is a health and fitness blog, here's my message: I don't care what the NT says about wine, it's not good for fat loss!
I'm here to talk about wine, alcohol, and fat loss. I'm going to tell you right now that if you want to stay lean or are trying to get lean, then stop drinking wine and alcohol.
According to Susan Kleiner, the author of Power Eating, "alcohol puts fat metabolism on hold. It's not your friend if you're trying to stay lean." I think that summarizes this post. If you want to metabolize fat, then don't drink alcohol.
Here's how alcohol works in your body: alcohol goes to the liver, which processes and removes toxins from your body (this is why excessive alcohol consumption can cause cirrhosis). As long as the liver is busy oxidizing alcohol, it isn't oxidizing anything else. Meanwhile, the other macronutrients in your body cannot be utilized. Lyle Macdonald writes in The Ketogenic Diet, "alcohol consumption will almost completely impair the body's use of fat for fuel." So if those macronutrients aren't being utilized, then what are they doing? They're making you fat!
The metabolization of fat also depletes your body of vitamins and water-soluble minerals, niacin and thiamin in particular. It ruins the lining of your stomach and impairs digestion. It can dehydrate you, and even lower your testosterone production. Not only do you get fat, but you lose your ability to build muscle. A double whammy.
If that weren't bad enough, alcohol is devoid of nutrients. It's empty calories. It has some vitamins and nutrients, but not much. The media have touted the benefits of resveretrol, a compound in wine that can protect against cardiovascular disease because its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Okay, but if you want resveratrol, you can eat grapes. Not only that, but resveratrol needs to be present in such large quantities to have any significant impact.
If you must have alcohol, then drink one small glass of red wine per night, or every other night. Remember, the larger and heavier you are, the more you can tolerate. Men can tolerate more than women. Avoid martinis, daiquiris, and margaritas. Don't have multiple drinks and never, ever binge. Just realize that every glass you drink is taking your backwards, not forwards. How badly do you want to lose fat? If you drink every night, you need to question your commitment to your fitness goals.
How much do you want to drink alcohol? That's a question you have to decide for yourself. If you want to lose fat more than you want to drink alcohol, then cut it out immediately. At the very most you should have no more than a few glasses per week.
Keep in mind that a "glass" should be a tall glass of about 5-6 oz of alcohol. Alcohol is calorically dense. It provides seven calories per each gram. That's more than carbs or protein, but less than fat. Anything beyond "moderation" is going to ruin your fat loss efforts.
Of course athletes consume alcohol sometimes. But they are using enormous amounts of energy each day, and one or two glasses is hardly going to dent their performance. They could probably use the extra calories.
Kevin
PS- I'm reading the New Testament right now, and I've noticed several references to wine. Since this is a health and fitness blog, here's my message: I don't care what the NT says about wine, it's not good for fat loss!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Liquid Calories
Liquid Calories
America’s weight gain is clearly attributable to the quantity and quality of food. In the last 100 years, our diet has changed more than it did in the previous 10,000 years combined. As I pointed out in a previous article, physical activity hasn’t changed much since the 1900s. Sure, more people were in agriculture and factory jobs, but nobody belonged to gyms, and nobody ran or did any kind of sustained exercise for long periods of time. People didn’t have the wealth, means, or inclination to do voluntary exercise.
What has changed is the standard American diet, whose acronym, SAD, fittingly describes what our diet is: poor in nutrients, high in processed foods, poor in fruits and vegetables, a lot of high-glycemic carbohydrates, fast food, snacks, and worst, liquid calories.
While many people will count or estimate the calories that they’re eating, they fail to calculate the calories they're drinking in liquid form. It never occurs to them that what they're drinking could be sabotaging their weight loss efforts. But they still count. Calories not only come in food, but every year Americans consume more and more of them in the form of liquids.
Until the early 20th century, there was almost no such thing as liquid calories. Coca-Cola was the first manufacturer of soft drinks in 18. The English drank coffee with sweetened tea. But most people drank plain old water and got their calories from solid food.
There are a number of reasons why solid food is a better way to maintain a healthy weight. The very act of chewing actually uses energy, but for most people it is more satisfying to chew food. Several studies have also shown a link between the number of times people chew and the amount of food they eat. The more they chew, the less they eat. A recent study in the Netherlands showed that people who chewed three times more ate 52% less food. Chewing sends signals to the brain that calories have been consumed.
As David Kessler points out in his new book The End of Overeating, shows how food manufacturers have actually made overeating so easy with foods that dissolve quickly in the mouth and are easy to chew. These concoctions of high-fat and high-sugar foods encourage people to eat fast before their bodies can send a signal of fullness. In other words, food manufacturers want to make food more like liquid calories.
Liquid calories do not send the same signal of fullness as real food, at least for most people. Some researchers propose that we are evolutionary not designed to interpret liquids for food. If our bodies did recognize liquids as food, then drinking a lot of water would decrease our appetite to the point that we would never want food, and thus we would starve.
Liquid calories are ubiquitous these days. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that the average portion of sodas and beverages has increased 6 ounces between1976-1996. Americans are now drinking ¼ of all calories in liquid form. Here are the various beverages that contain hidden calories.
Soda is the most obvious form of liquid nutrition. America's obesity rates have increased in direct proportion to soda consumption, which usually contains high fructose corn syrup. One 8-oz can contains up to 40 grams of sugar and anywhere between 120-200 calories. If you want to drink soda, limit yourself to one or two cans of diet soda. The portions of soda have also exploded. You can now buy 64 oz (half a gallon!) at convenience stores. That would be almost 1,000 calories. Bottles of soda usually have 20 oz, but the serving size lists the calories per 8 oz. In other words, if one 8-ounce serving of soda contains 120 calories, but the bottle is 20 oz, there are 2.5 servings, and 280 calories in the bottle. Read labels carefully.
Tea- In the last 10 years Americans have become enamored of tea. Tea has antioxidants and anti-cancer properties, but manufacturers have added sugar to a lot of these beverages. One can of Arizona Green Tea, for example, contains 140 calories. Tea’s bitter taste can also induce people to add sugar to their drinks.
Coffee- Starbucks is quickly becoming known as liquid McDonald’s. We can't solely blame fast food for America's weight problem. Starbucks is part of the problem too. Look at a sample of some of their drinks and you’ll understand why. One tall Caramel Frappucino Light Blended Coffee with no whipped cream has 170 calories. A White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 470 calories. Many other drinks contain 100-300 calories. These drinks provide little nutrition, raise your blood sugar, and are not satiating. The key is to avoid an item with long names, and avoid extra toppings such as whipped cream, ice cream, and caramel.
Juice- This is a food that’s easy to consider healthy, but is really just a load of sugar. Many juices aren’t 100% juice, and even those that are, contain concentrated sources of sugar. It’s always better to eat the whole fruit than to drink it. Whole fruit contains fiber and nutrients, while many fruit juices have a dearth of vitamins that were originally in the drink. Naked, Odwalla, and Bolthouse Farms produce juices with vitamins and minerals, but they still contain a lot of calories. Eight ounces of liquid is unlikely to make you feel full. Orange juice is usually fortified with vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin C, but still has 24 grams of sugar per cup. Tropicana now makes Trop 50, with only 13 grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Beer and alcohol- One can of beer usually contains about 120 calories. These calories come in the form of carbohydrates and alcohol. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 for carbohydrates. The problem with alcohol is that it completely shuts down fat burning until the liver processes all the alcohol. Light beer contains about 80-90 calories. Red wine contains about 80 calories per serving, but one serving is five ounces.
Energy drinks- First it was Red Bull. Now it’s Amp, Energy Rush, Sobe, and many others. Most contain 100-200 calories per can, and have questionable value. The energy rush they provide usually comes from caffeine, not he added sugar. If you want caffeine, drink black coffee. If you want energy, focus your diet on wholesome foods, physical activity, and plenty of sleep.
Sports drinks- More and more Americans are engaging in exercise, which is good, but manufacturers have responded with more and more options. While sports drinks have their purpose of replenishing glycogen and increasing endurance, most people don’t work out long enough to warrant a sports drink. One bottle of Gatorade contains 120 calories, and is unlikely going to enhance your performance. Water will serve just fine for any exercise under an hour, even high-intensity exercise. Working out longer than 75 minutes could deplete your glycogen stores. In that case, a sports drink might help so you don’t “bonk.” If you must drink something sweet or flavorful, try Vitamin 10, with 25 calories per bottle, or Sobe Life Water with zero calories. Power Ade also has a zero-calorie version, but is artificially sweetened.
There you go. Your first step to weight loss is not what you eat, but what your drink. Be wary of those liquid calories. They can easily add up. Remember, they don’t call it a beer gut for nothing.
Kevin
America’s weight gain is clearly attributable to the quantity and quality of food. In the last 100 years, our diet has changed more than it did in the previous 10,000 years combined. As I pointed out in a previous article, physical activity hasn’t changed much since the 1900s. Sure, more people were in agriculture and factory jobs, but nobody belonged to gyms, and nobody ran or did any kind of sustained exercise for long periods of time. People didn’t have the wealth, means, or inclination to do voluntary exercise.
What has changed is the standard American diet, whose acronym, SAD, fittingly describes what our diet is: poor in nutrients, high in processed foods, poor in fruits and vegetables, a lot of high-glycemic carbohydrates, fast food, snacks, and worst, liquid calories.
While many people will count or estimate the calories that they’re eating, they fail to calculate the calories they're drinking in liquid form. It never occurs to them that what they're drinking could be sabotaging their weight loss efforts. But they still count. Calories not only come in food, but every year Americans consume more and more of them in the form of liquids.
Until the early 20th century, there was almost no such thing as liquid calories. Coca-Cola was the first manufacturer of soft drinks in 18. The English drank coffee with sweetened tea. But most people drank plain old water and got their calories from solid food.
There are a number of reasons why solid food is a better way to maintain a healthy weight. The very act of chewing actually uses energy, but for most people it is more satisfying to chew food. Several studies have also shown a link between the number of times people chew and the amount of food they eat. The more they chew, the less they eat. A recent study in the Netherlands showed that people who chewed three times more ate 52% less food. Chewing sends signals to the brain that calories have been consumed.
As David Kessler points out in his new book The End of Overeating, shows how food manufacturers have actually made overeating so easy with foods that dissolve quickly in the mouth and are easy to chew. These concoctions of high-fat and high-sugar foods encourage people to eat fast before their bodies can send a signal of fullness. In other words, food manufacturers want to make food more like liquid calories.
Liquid calories do not send the same signal of fullness as real food, at least for most people. Some researchers propose that we are evolutionary not designed to interpret liquids for food. If our bodies did recognize liquids as food, then drinking a lot of water would decrease our appetite to the point that we would never want food, and thus we would starve.
Liquid calories are ubiquitous these days. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that the average portion of sodas and beverages has increased 6 ounces between1976-1996. Americans are now drinking ¼ of all calories in liquid form. Here are the various beverages that contain hidden calories.
Soda is the most obvious form of liquid nutrition. America's obesity rates have increased in direct proportion to soda consumption, which usually contains high fructose corn syrup. One 8-oz can contains up to 40 grams of sugar and anywhere between 120-200 calories. If you want to drink soda, limit yourself to one or two cans of diet soda. The portions of soda have also exploded. You can now buy 64 oz (half a gallon!) at convenience stores. That would be almost 1,000 calories. Bottles of soda usually have 20 oz, but the serving size lists the calories per 8 oz. In other words, if one 8-ounce serving of soda contains 120 calories, but the bottle is 20 oz, there are 2.5 servings, and 280 calories in the bottle. Read labels carefully.
Tea- In the last 10 years Americans have become enamored of tea. Tea has antioxidants and anti-cancer properties, but manufacturers have added sugar to a lot of these beverages. One can of Arizona Green Tea, for example, contains 140 calories. Tea’s bitter taste can also induce people to add sugar to their drinks.
Coffee- Starbucks is quickly becoming known as liquid McDonald’s. We can't solely blame fast food for America's weight problem. Starbucks is part of the problem too. Look at a sample of some of their drinks and you’ll understand why. One tall Caramel Frappucino Light Blended Coffee with no whipped cream has 170 calories. A White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream has 470 calories. Many other drinks contain 100-300 calories. These drinks provide little nutrition, raise your blood sugar, and are not satiating. The key is to avoid an item with long names, and avoid extra toppings such as whipped cream, ice cream, and caramel.
Juice- This is a food that’s easy to consider healthy, but is really just a load of sugar. Many juices aren’t 100% juice, and even those that are, contain concentrated sources of sugar. It’s always better to eat the whole fruit than to drink it. Whole fruit contains fiber and nutrients, while many fruit juices have a dearth of vitamins that were originally in the drink. Naked, Odwalla, and Bolthouse Farms produce juices with vitamins and minerals, but they still contain a lot of calories. Eight ounces of liquid is unlikely to make you feel full. Orange juice is usually fortified with vitamin D, calcium, and vitamin C, but still has 24 grams of sugar per cup. Tropicana now makes Trop 50, with only 13 grams of carbohydrate per serving.
Beer and alcohol- One can of beer usually contains about 120 calories. These calories come in the form of carbohydrates and alcohol. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram, compared to 4 for carbohydrates. The problem with alcohol is that it completely shuts down fat burning until the liver processes all the alcohol. Light beer contains about 80-90 calories. Red wine contains about 80 calories per serving, but one serving is five ounces.
Energy drinks- First it was Red Bull. Now it’s Amp, Energy Rush, Sobe, and many others. Most contain 100-200 calories per can, and have questionable value. The energy rush they provide usually comes from caffeine, not he added sugar. If you want caffeine, drink black coffee. If you want energy, focus your diet on wholesome foods, physical activity, and plenty of sleep.
Sports drinks- More and more Americans are engaging in exercise, which is good, but manufacturers have responded with more and more options. While sports drinks have their purpose of replenishing glycogen and increasing endurance, most people don’t work out long enough to warrant a sports drink. One bottle of Gatorade contains 120 calories, and is unlikely going to enhance your performance. Water will serve just fine for any exercise under an hour, even high-intensity exercise. Working out longer than 75 minutes could deplete your glycogen stores. In that case, a sports drink might help so you don’t “bonk.” If you must drink something sweet or flavorful, try Vitamin 10, with 25 calories per bottle, or Sobe Life Water with zero calories. Power Ade also has a zero-calorie version, but is artificially sweetened.
There you go. Your first step to weight loss is not what you eat, but what your drink. Be wary of those liquid calories. They can easily add up. Remember, they don’t call it a beer gut for nothing.
Kevin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
